


The Story of Tonight- Sokkla Saturdays

by DeadDirector



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:54:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 49,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadDirector/pseuds/DeadDirector
Summary: Sometimes fate is what draws them together, sometimes their friends lend a helping hand, and other times sheer dumb luck finds Sokka, the young warrior of the Water Tribe and Princess Azula, prodigy of the Fire Nation falling hopelessly in love with each other. This is a series of unrelated one shots for the Sokkla Saturdays challenge.
Relationships: Azula/Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 92





	1. Chapter 1

At this point he couldn’t even begin to recall each and every one of the myriad encounters that he had had with the Princess. Sokka remembered the first liaison well enough. It was in the training grounds, late in the afternoon. The imperial firebenders had finished their practice for the day and the grounds were empty except for Azula and himself. They had fought before of course, while the war still raged. When they were still kids, really. 

It was impossible for him to ever forget the memory of their first time together. When it started, Sokka wasn’t sure if she was attempting to kill him or seduce him. With the Princess, maybe there was never a difference between the two. They had been fighting for what felt like hours. Azula’s bending which was already impressive, had grown to new heights with her new found mental acuity. Having a stable relationship with her brother and newfound sister had brought Azula the peace of mind to hone her skills to a level beyond she had ever been. 

Sokka’s hadn’t been idle after the conflict ended either. He traveled the world with Master Piandao for a couple of years, helping the White Lotus settle disputes and establish balance in the world. Afterwards he had settled in the newly founded Republic City. He honed his physical talents by helping Toph train her band of nascent metalbenders. Sokka was no longer the scrawny boy who had invaded the Fire Nation all those years ago. He was a councilman, a leader of men, a great warrior. 

Naturally, he had been getting his ass kicked, absolutely. Her attacks were powerful and precise. It had taken every ounce of his ingenuity and skill to avoid and bat away her attacks. Against a firebender of her abilities, his only hope was to reach the Princess and engage her in close combat. By the time he had closed to within striking distance he was panting. His limbs ached and protested with every movement. He swung the blunted training sword towards her torso, hoping to land a debilitating blow. 

Azula twisted away from him spinning like a ballerina, a feral grin standing out against her otherwise perfect features. Sokka had gulped nervously, aware that his defeat was imminent. The Princess had continued her pirouette, a leg dropped low and took out his footing, knocking him on the flat of his back. 

She jumped atop him, straddling his waist and pinning his arms above his head forcefully. Sokka was stronger than her by leaps and bounds. Even in his exhausted state that much was true. Yet, as he lay under her, he thought that it wasn’t quite so bad. Azula glared down at him, an unreadable expression on her face. 

She really was the most beautiful woman in the world. Suki, Ty Lee, even his once beloved and subsequently lost, Yue paled in comparison. None of them could hold a candle to the ethereal brightness that was the Princess of the Fire Nation. Sokka’s will was broken before her lips came crashing against his. 

_________________________________________________________________________

For almost two weeks after their first dalliance, Azula basically ignored him. That wasn’t anything new in particular. They never really had conversations other than sniping back and forth at dinner or debating the finer points of logistics at council meetings. The last three of the aforementioned council meetings, the Princess had withdrawn and displayed none of her customary derision at the plans proposed by Zuko. It had fallen to him and him alone to try and reign in the Fire Lord’s worst impulses and decisions. 

His head was fuzzy everytime that he looked at the Princess. She was like no one he had ever been with before. That one encounter was enough to ruin all other women for him. He wanted more, he  _ needed _ more. Her scent was intoxicating. His thoughts were filled with the memory of their bodies, sweaty and pressed against each other. 

Sokka left the Fire Lord’s office alongside the Minister of the Treasury. Izail was a harsh man, but Sokka respected his acumen, even if the pair didn’t always agree. They often had fundamental disagreements on the value of tariffs, especially in regards to trade with the nascent Republic City.

The two were chatting animatedly as they walked down the hall. They were interrupted by a loud clearing of a throat. The pair turned around and Izail quickly bowed low in a sign of deference. Princess Azula came between the two advisers. She inclined her head slightly. 

“Minister Izail, thank you for your words of wisdom today. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to borrow the councilman. He has some expertise on a matter that only he can satisfy.” Azula finished with a tone that brooked no disobedience. She was sending away the Minister. 

Izail for his part, understood instantly what was occurring. He completed another customary bow and vacated the hallway with some haste. Azula waited for the minister to round the corner, before she glanced both ways down the hall before dragging Sokka into an unused meeting room. Sokka was confused, and half expected her to attack him, for some slight that came from their lovemaking a fortnight ago. 

Instead, she jammed a wooden chair against the door handle, blocking entry for any interloper. Azula turned around and glared at him. She eyed him greedily, like a piece of meat at the butcher. Like he was waiting to be carved up and delivered. The Princess impatiently tapped her foot with her arms crossed. 

“Peasant, you should have already been disrobing, you’re wasting valuable time, and we both know you have to be in Zuzu’s office in thirty minutes.” Azula drawled. 

Confusion at how Azula knew the ins and outs of his daily schedule was replaced with thoughts of lust. She wanted him to disrobe. She wanted him again. Thoughts of that night with her had filled his every waking dream. Azula lingered on his mind and in his thoughts. She was like an itch he couldn’t quite scratch. After their first tryst ended, Sokka was wistful and mournful that their time together had come to a close. Even in the middle of their carnal act, he knew that he would never find a woman as magnificent or fantastic again. 

Yet now, she had sought him out again. An emotion more powerful than any other in the world, rose unbidden in his chest. Hope. He had never stripped out of his clothes faster. 

_________________________________________________________________________

For the next meeting, Azula waited far less time to enact her plan. Sokka had been on the way to the kitchen for a late night snack. The chefs and the rest of the kitchen staff were already in bed, but somehow the Princess was waiting for him. She was wearing only a crimson silk robe that was open down the middle, revealing everything that mattered. She didn’t have to say a word. She did, however, slap the biscuit that Sokka smuggled out of the tin and had tried to eat out of his hand as she pulled him close and against her body. 

That night was the first time that the pair had almost been caught. One of the chefs had come in early to begin preparing the various pastries that would be served at breakfast. Azula, thankfully knew a side exit used by some of the servants and they were able to slip away and out of the kitchen. Azula had categorically denied allowing him to spend the night in her room, to minor grumbles from Sokka.

Their fourth time was the very next evening. The Kyoshi Warriors had returned from an overseas trip to Ba Sing Se at Zuko’s behest. They had a small feast in honor of their return and Zuko and Suki were shameless in their outward displays of affection. Only matched perhaps by Ty Lee’s open flirting with him. Sokka might have been more receptive to her advances as he had once been, but ever since his relationship (if it could even be called that) with Azula had started, he didn’t want to look in the direction of another woman, much less dare to do so with Azula so nearby. 

The acrobat had made a beeline to sit next to him, only to be scared off with a glare from the Princess. The two had never been on good terms since the incident at Boiling Rock. Azula sat next to him for the entire dinner, only making a few scathing comments about his lack of table manners and decorum. Yet, again when they left the dining chambers, Azula pulled him discreetly into an unoccupied closest and proceeded to have her way with him. 

After another month of occurrences similar to those, it began to dawn on Sokka that what they were doing wasn’t entirely a physical relationship. Sure, they were having sex, mind-blowing, unbelievable, passionate sex, but they were also enjoying each others company more and more. They lingered after each encounter in each other’s embrace longer and longer. They had never spent the night together, but he thought Azula had come close. 

She had taken him forcefully in his office in the middle of the day, making him late for a meeting with the Minister of agriculture, so Sokka had assumed he wouldn’t see her again until the next day. However, that night she had snuck into his personal bed chambers wearing naught but a dark onyx robe. As the pair basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, (a name that Sokka referred to their activities as, and that constantly caused Azula to roll her eyes or scoff) Sokka thought she might actually spend the night with him. He dozed off with her in his arms, yet when he awoke the firebender was gone, vanished into the darkness of the night. 

Their affair continued off and on over the course of the next year. Surviving even when Sokka had returned to Republic City. The Princess visited the city with some regularity, as an ambassador working on behalf of the Fire Nation. He still wasn’t sure the specifics of how she had convinced Zuko or his ministers to allow that one, but Azula was the very definition of scary when she was determined to get what she wanted. 

Sokka visited the Fire Nation capital as often as he could, oftentimes on the flimsiest of pretenses, but thankfully Zuko in all his obliviousness never noticed. One evening after a vigorous session of lovemaking on the royal balcony, Azula snuck into his chambers at the hour of the wolf and settled into the bed next to him. She hadn’t said a word, merely threw her arm over his body and nestled her head against his chest. Sokka figured it was as close as she would ever come to admitting they were in a relationship.

_________________________________________________________________________

Loud stomping and voices on the other side of the double oak door, shook Azula and Sokka from their intimacy. The Princess grabbed the bed sheet and rolled under the bed in a fluid motion. She left Sokka with only a pillow that he draped poorly over his crotch. The door opened and the only possible person it could be, entered the room. 

“Uhhh, hey Zuko. I kinda lost my clothes and I need to borrow yours.” Sokka said weakly. 

He thought he heard a groan or maybe it was a stifled laugh from underneath the bed. He kicked the post of the bed in response. 

“I knew you were lying about being over Suki!” Zuko exclaimed in an accusatory manner.

Sokka threw up his hands in protest, before realizing that he bared himself to the world, or at least his friend. “Hey, I haven’t been with Suki for a long time. I’m pretty sure the only one whose slept with her in the last year has been you, Fire Lord.” 

He had to admit he enjoyed the look on Zuko’s face as he sputtered out a denial. “H-H-How’d you find out? Why would Suki tell you?” the sovereign whined. 

“She didn’t tell me, that’d be weird if she was disclosing that. No, she told Ty Lee. You know how the Kyoshi Warriors are...I hooked up with Riyu once after Suki and I… broke up, somehow they all knew in twelve hours. Absurd, right?” 

Zuko ignored him, face reddening. “But why would Ty Lee tell you?” 

Sokka shot his friend an incredulous look that was the equivalent of asking “Really?” 

“Okay. Yeah, you’re right Ty Lee told probably everyone didn’t she?” Zuko rubbed his forehead in a manner betraying his stress levels. 

“Yup. I’m pretty sure at this point even the Earth King knows.” Sokka shot back at him whilst grinning. 

Zuko gave a groan of dismay before eyeing the water tribesman warily. “That still doesn’t explain who you were here with. AND IN MY BED SOKKA!” Zuko’s voice rose as he recognized that he would assuredly need his sheets changed, as well as maybe a new mattress before going to sleep tonight. 

Sokka felt Azula’s hand tap impatiently at the top of his foot. The Princess clearly was not enjoying her hiding place under the massive four poster bed that they had just recently defiled. “Well, it’s not really that important Zuko. I uhhh- I apologize for being in here. It won’t happen again.” Sokka did his best to appear bashful. 

Azula pinched the top of his foot sharply and he grimaced. “Okay it was someone really important, but I can’t tell you about it, because errrrr- reasons?” He finished lamely. 

Zuko’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What do you mean important…” The Fire Lord’s voice was low and demanded an answer. 

“Uhhhh- well I can’t tell you. She’d kill me. Or you’d kill me. Or Katara would kill me. Somebody would kill me. You gotta understand.” Sokka responded. 

“You know what? I don’t care about this anymore.” From under the bed, her voice was muffled, but was still more than loud enough for both he and Zuko to hear it.

“What was that?” Zuko glanced at the floorboards near Sokka’s feet. 

“Nothing, I think you’re hearing things!” Sokka shouted loudly, knowing full well what was about to occur. 

The Princess rolled out from underneath the bed, and stood alongside her lover. “Really Zuzu, it took you this long to figure it out. We’ve desecrated every room in the Palace except for this one, and now we finally have completed the set. I wonder if any other royalty can say they completed such an act?” Azula smirked at her brother, while she was clad only in a loose bed sheet. 

Zuko made no sound. Twice, the Fire Lord opened his mouth but words did not emanate. Disbelief marred the monarch’s features. Disbelief that quickly turned into indignation and finally at last, rage.

“Well then, I have to prepare myself for the feast. With your leave, Lordship Zuzu.” Azula bowed as low as her makeshift clothing would allow, sarcasm dripping on her voice. 

She pushed the side of a painting, stepping into the hidden passageway that only she and Sokka had been aware of. Zuko’s eyes bulged in indignation at learning how his sister and friend had entered his private bedchambers. 

_________________________________________________________________________

It was nearing time for the feast. His brother-in-law and his sister had arrived yesterday. They were celebrating the end of the war. The anniversary of their victory was part of the reason he had been spending the day clandestinely with Azula. She didn’t like to dwell on the past and seeing the Avatar and Katara would likely only remind the royal of the loss she had suffered all those years ago. 

Sokka hurtled down the hallway, reasonably confident that he had lost Zuko somewhere near the gardens. The Fire Lord was a talented bender, but his time on the throne had left him in worse shape than Sokka. He had been able to outrun his friend and clothed himself in his friend’s robes. 

When Azula vanished from the Fire Lord’s bedchambers, all of Zuko’s wrath and anger had been focused on him. A pair of priceless paintings from the renowned Earth Kingdom painter Ni Wong were burned to a crisp in an attack. He had barely managed to escape from the room with all of the hairs on his head. He grabbed a formal outfit that was strewn on the floor as he escaped and had managed to robe himself while on the run.

“SOKKA!” 

Okay. Maybe he hadn’t succeeded in shaking Zuko. 

He barged through the large oak doors to the grand dining room of the Fire Nation Palace. The Fire Nation royal family sans Zuko and Azula were already seated on the dais along with his sister and Aang. They were joined by Toph and her boyfriend Luren, as well as Ty Lee and Haru. A few startled questions were launched at him as everyone took in his state of dishelvement as well as the fact that he was wearing clothes that normally would be seen only on the Fire Lord’s person. 

Disregarding all of them as he hurried to Katara’s side, Sokka wrapped his sister in a hug. “What-what are you doing?” she asked him. 

“Do you remember when I saved you from falling into the fishing hole when you were five years old?” Sokka said breathlessly. 

“Yes…” Katara answered, confusedly. 

“Remember, how you said you always would owe me, and once you learned waterbending you would protect me one day? Well. Uhhh that day is right now.” He finished, his voice reaching a high frightened pitch. 

“What did you do?” Katara snarled at him, dangerously. 

“Nothing! Err- Nothing that bad! He’s totally blowing this way out of proportion and you need to protect me.” Sokka begged his only sibling.

Next to Katara, the Avatar looked nervous. “Oh no.” The Air Nomad said, realization dawning on his face. “He knows doesn’t he?”

His sister looked indignant at being kept out of the loop. “Who do you mea-” 

“SOKKA!” Zuko roared in anger as he entered the dining hall. 

At the high table, Kiyi responded in fright, never having seen her brother act in such a manner. Ursa reached a hand out to rub her youngest child’s shoulder in a protective manner. “Zuko! Stop this.” She chided her eldest in a disapproving tone. 

“No, Mother! I won’t stop. This snow savage was defiling her in my bed chambers.” Zuko’s face was turning a particularly impressive shade of purple as the Fire Lord frothed in rage. 

“Oh, Zuko.” Ursa sighed and shot a disappointed look at Sokka. 

Katara pushed Sokka away and turned to glare at him. “I can’t believe you would do this to Zuko. You knew he and Suki were just starting their relationship!” She bended water from her goblet and tried to create a whip to hit her brother. Sokka rolled under the attack and mercifully his brother-in-law bailed him out by placating Katara. 

“Did everyone know?!” Zuko asked, a tinge of a whine present in his voice. 

He looked at his mother who only nodded sadly in the affirmative while the Fire Lord groaned. At that very moment either by coincidence or an act of providence, Suki entered the room wearing a stunning red hanfu and without the traditional Kyoshi warpaint. The earth kingdom native looked confused as she strode forward to stand next to Zuko. They had chosen tonight to announce their relationship to the world and she was nervous at the dirty looks being sent in her direction from both Ursa and Katara. 

“Uhh- what’s going on?” Suki inquired meekly. 

Zuko at last noticed her, as she drew level beside him. He reached out a hand to Suki, who gratefully accepted. Now Ursa and Katara were the ones to display confusion and Sokka thought that maybe this would be his best time to make an escape. Unfortunately for the water tribesman the opulent dining hall of the Fire Nation had only one entrance and one exit, and the Fire Lord was blocking it. 

“I found Sokka naked in my room! On my bed!” Zuko bellowed “Doing it With-with-w.” The Fire Lord stuttered in his fury.

“With who, dear? It clearly wasn’t Suki. Why are you so worked up?” Ursa asked kindly, still flummoxed at what had set her son off in such a manner. 

“WITH YOUR DAUGHTER!” Zuko exploded, at last revealing the pertinent information. Across the dining room, jaws dropped to the floor.

Ursa glanced at her thirteen year old daughter, Kiyi in a bewildered manner, before gasping. Noren grabbed his wife’s hand as she tilted in her seat, dangerously close to falling out of her chair. Kiyi giggled, while Ty Lee clapped excitedly at the information. 

“Azula, really Sokka?” Katara scoffed at him. 

Aang nervously grabbed his wife’s hand and she turned on the airbender, her bright blue eyes flaring dangerously. “You knew!” She accused him. 

“It wasn’t my place to say honey.” Aang responded sheepishly. 

Zuko looked as if he was debating whether to attempt an attack while Sokka was surrounded by so many of their shared friends. Toph had approached the water tribesman and punched him square in the shoulder. “Good Job Snoozles. Now I don’t have to pretend to not smell her scent on you everyday.” Toph said in between uproarious laughter.

Sokka grimaced as he saw the scandalized expression on Ursa’s face. Azula never had a great relationship with her mother, even after the matriarch returned. It seemed as if he would start off on the wrong foot with the former Fire Lady as well. Of course, being on Ursa’s bad side might just endear him to Azula all the more… 

Sokka was shaken from his thoughts as Zuko approached him menacingly. Suki reached out an arm to slow her new beau, and he felt a surge of gratitude for his ex. Unfortunately, her action did little to deter the enraged monarch. “Give me a reason, I don’t add a charred swordsman to the dinner menu tonight, Sokka.” Zuko said threateningly. 

Sokka gulped worriedly, glancing over to see if either his sister or Aang would provide any support. The couple were too busy continuing their argument. Apparently Aang would be paying for many days for daring to have the audacity to keep his best friend’s secret from his wife. Looking over at his sister distracted Sokka from noticing the newest person to join the festivities. 

“I wouldn’t do that if you value your life, sweet Zuzu.” Azula’s voice rose to challenge her older brother. 

The Princess was outfitted in her traditional Fire Nation royal armor and stood with her hands on her hips a few meters behind her brother. Suki dropped Zuko’s hand from her own and ran up to stand behind Ursa who looked back and forth between her two eldest children with a worrisome glance. 

“What’s that supposed to mean, Azula. Have you finally decided to try your hand at regicide?” Katara said bitingly from the table on the dais. 

The Princess just rolled her eyes at the waterbender. “Surely you don’t believe her lies, brother. If I wanted your throne I would have already taken it.” Azula said with her trademark smirk. 

“What you and Sokka did was unacceptable. And seeing how I can’t do anything to you, he needs to be taught a lesson.” Zuko had started to turn to face Sokka, who had silently been approaching to try and reach Azula and the promise of safety. 

The Fire Lord growled and warningly ignited flames in the palm of his hand. Sokka leapt backwards, bumping into a chair and stumbling. Azula leapt in front of him and lit her own, unique flames in response.

“I have better things to do than lust after your throne, Zuzu. Whatever you might think of me. If I had wanted it, I would have it by now with the savage at my side. It was an enticing idea, and I must confess I thought of it. But his goody-goody nature was enough to deter me. I’ll be good.” Azula mock shuddered at the last word. “And play by your rules but you won’t harm a hair on his perfectly groomed head.” Azula’s flames danced all around her. 

Zuko extinguished his orange fire and Azula followed suit with a satisfied grin. “Besides,” She began. “It’s illegal for a member of the Fire Nation royal family to cause harm to another member of the family isn’t it? Sure, our Mother had her banishment rescinded, but I wouldn’t test the Fire Sages, dear Zuzu.” 

The Fire Lord looked at her confused and Sokka himself found himself at a loss, they had never really discussed this before. Azula laughed aloud, joined only by Toph. 

“I was wondering when you were going to tell them. I noticed it this morning at breakfast.” The earthbender exclaimed in between chortles. 

“Yes, if Zuko were to wound Sokka, that would be grounds for removal from his throne. What a scandal it would be if the Fire Lord tried to injure the husband of his poor little sister and the father of their child.” 

The room went deathly silent for a moment before a cacophony of sound and bustling began. Outrage and glee poured out from the various attendees of that night’s eventful dinner. Zuko looked as if he might faint. Katara’s face was turning a particularly impressive shade of puce while Aang beamed happily beside his wife. Ursa was scolding Kiyi, who was clapping excitedly, she had always had a certain fondness for him.

Sokka’s first instinct had been to reel back in shock, but he knew that he needed to be there for Azula. What she had done in front of so many that didn’t care for, was perhaps the bravest thing the Princess had ever done in her life. 

Sokka wrapped his arms carefully and lovingly around her stomach and pulled her flush against him in a caring embrace. 

“I love you, Princess.” He whispered in her ear, trying to convey the millions of emotions he felt all at once. 

“And I’ve decided to tolerate carrying around you spawn for the next half year or so. You already owe me more than you could ever imagine, savage.” She turned inside his arms and looked him in the eyes, azure met gold and something unspoken passed between them. 

Azula didn’t have to declare her love, for Sokka to know that it was true. 


	2. Sokkla Saturdays- Thrones of Ice and Fire

Hakoda limped slightly as he climbed the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. His wounds from the war didn’t usually bother him unless he exerted himself more than usual. New buildings had sprouted and grown all across his former village, which was now bustling and booming into a true city. 

Messenger hawks didn’t fare well in the Poles. They did, however, serve an important purpose in linking the new and growing capital city of the Southern Water Tribe with the rest of the world. Because of this, Chief Hakoda had crafted a special room that was well insulated and kept warm all day by round the clock burning of leftover whale blubber and other fuels. In this room, the Southern Water Tribe stored their own hawks that they had purchased from the Fire Nation as well as those of visiting hawks who had just delivered their messages before resting and returning to their place of origin. 

The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe opened the wooden door and stepped into the aviary. There were perhaps a dozen birds currently resting lazily in their cages including his son’s own creature. Sokka had built a special cage, slightly larger and equipped with more amenities than the other birds had. He wasn’t sure if birds got jealous, but if they did, the rest of the denizens were quite cross at the winged companion his son had affectionately named Hawky. 

Shaking his head at the uniquely named hawk as it preened in its cage of comfort, Hakoda reached for the scroll that had been deposited by one of the newest arrivals. Opening the container and then fiddling with the seal on the scroll, the Chief peered at the contents before muttering to no one except the birds.

“Spirits, this is going to be a nightmare isn’t it?” Hakoda asked Hawky, a grimace covering the grizzled man’s face. 

The raptor just stared back, head cocked, directly into his soul. 

____________________________________________________________________________

The ten year old boy inhaled deeply. His eyes were closed and his arms hung limply by his sides. His breathing was precise and calm. Up and down his chest rose again and again. The bright summer sun hung directly overhead, bathing the South Pole in its light. Despite the cold, the constant presence of the sun only increased his power. 

His eyes opened suddenly and the child sprang forward sending twin blasts of fire forward. The boy leapt backwards into a handstand and when his feet were pointing directly towards the sun, he shot off a pair of flames from his foundation. When he completed the handstand and returned to his feet, he brought both his arms down in a wide arc that could be better described as a conflagration. The wave of flame had specks of blue intermingled with orange throughout.

A raucous round of applause came from behind the boy, who turned to observe both his parents watching. His father beamed at him, as he continued hooting and hollering praise directed at him. 

“I did it! Did you see? there was blue in it this time. My flames are getting way hotter!” The boy ran to his father who embraced him. 

“It was amazing. You’re doing phenomenal, Kyan. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Sokka said proudly. 

Next to them, his wife Azula rolled her eyes. “I don’t see the big deal. I was a full year younger than Kyan when I first manifested a partial blue flame.” She said flatly.

The young firebender deflated visibly and Sokka glared dangerously at her. 

Cursing inwardly, Azula tried to extricate herself from the situation. “I only reached that of course, because I had nothing else to do and I practiced under much harsher and unforgiving conditions than you, my son. You’re improving faster than I thought possible.” Azula approached them and reached a comforting hand out to her youngest child. 

Kyan’s face brightened instantly at the praise from his mother and the boy rushed to hug her as well. Azula softly patted the boy’s back as behind him Sokka mouthed a silent “thank you” to his wife. “You really think I’m improving mom?” Kyan asked keenly.

“Of course, I would tell you if you were failing or having less than satisfactory progress.” 

Behind them, Sokka groaned slightly but Azula’s words were enough to satisfy her youngest. Of their two children, Kyan was the more diligent and dedicated bender. Zalia was a talented bender of course, how could she not be with the talented bloodlines running in her veins. However she had yet to show the drive and desire to really improve and become truly great, like Kyan endeavoured too. 

Her husband of course encouraged her to explore and experiment with other things. So, while often Azula and Kyan would spend hours in the makeshift training grounds away from the waterbenders and soldiers of the Southern Water Tribe, Zalia and Sokka might be found toiling away in the workshop that he had built for his various trinkets and inventions that the pair were constantly improvising and improving on.

  
It wasn’t that Azula consciously favored her son over her daughter or loved her eldest less. Their relationship was just strained sometimes, nothing like her own relationship with Ursa of course. She was absolutely her father’s daughter, and because of this she had inherited his ability to both infuriate and exasperate her. 

“Come on, let’s get out of here. You’ve been practicing for hours already today and I already know that we’re about to miss all the good cuts of meat.” Sokka pleaded with her. 

At that, their son’s eyes lit up. While he favored his mother in most things including looks and temperament, the boy undeniably took after his father in matters of food and appetite. Kyan sprinted ahead in the direction of the massive communal dining hall that had been fashioned by Katara, (before she left) and a number of the master waterbenders who had settled in the South Pole after the war. 

Azula noticed the significant look that was sent her way, but really did not want to deal with it right now. When Sokka refused to budge, she grudgingly spoke. 

“What? I’m not going to baby them, or pretend that they are doing better than they are. Both of them are old enough now.” Azula returned his glare, imperiously. 

Sokka held up his arms in a sign of non combativeness. “I’m not saying we need to baby them. They are tough kids, raised by a pretty tough mother. But, you know how much he looks up to you. It won’t hurt if sometimes you show him some unconditional support.” He finished. 

“That was unconditional support!” Azula protested. “If I had been offered words of encouragement like that by any of my teachers, I would have been over the moon.” 

Sokka winced and Azula grabbed his hand. “Sorry, poor choice of phrase.” She mumbled. 

The water tribesman raised an eyebrow. An apology so easily from Azula was rare and signified that she truly did mean it. Sokka brushed a strand of hair back that had escaped and stuck to Azula’s forehead. The Princess never did stop complaining about how the polar weather ruined her favorite hairstyles, even if she had been living at the pole intermittently for near enough a decade. 

The family still maintained a large apartment in downtown Republic City where Azula and Sokka had originally kindled the romance between them. As they served as council members of the fledgling capital. At times Azula missed the bustle of the rapidly growing and sprawling megalopolis. Life in the Southern Water Tribe was simpler, and even though the nation was prospering under the stewardship of Hakoda, sometimes the firebender felt out of place and frankly bored. She knew that Sokka felt the same, but when summoned by his father to start assuming some of the duties required of the next chief of his people, he had been unable to refuse. 

Azula who had long since given up her once all encompassing desire to sit atop the Fire Throne, had packed up their home and the two year old Zalia and embarked for the far end of the earth. In transit they had discovered that Azula was pregnant again with Kyan, named in honor of Sokka’s mother. Azula hadn’t begrudged him the decision after she had chosen such a traditional Fire Nation name for their daughter.

Hakoda had originally disapproved of their relationship, as had every member of his family except Gran-Gran. Yet, the High Chief began to soften when he observed Sokka and Azula after they came to the pole to live full-time. It was hard to deny that they were anything but very much in love, even if Azula was still so aloof and caustic on occasion. The Princess’s competence was unassailable and she had benefited the tribe greatly by garnering favorable trade deals and outcomes with all of the Southern Water Tribe’s main partners. To say nothing of the sizable monetary investment that she had been able to needle out of Zuko. 

It was shockingly easy for her to demand a significant lump sum payment for the Fire Nation treasury. After all, dearest Zuzu had come to the tribe so long ago and attacked the poor townsfolk, completely unprovoked. Coupled with her substantial dowry, Azula had been able to spur investment and growth in her new home. So it was that their family grew up in a decent enough facsimile of a palace. Or at least Sokka and the children had taken to calling it that. To her it seemed like nothing more than a slightly larger igloo than the rest of the town had. Especially when compared to that of the Northern Water Tribe’s Palace, which she had visited once with Sokka early on in their relationship. 

That experience wasn’t an enjoyable one. The people of the Northern Water Tribe had a healthy amount of respect for Sokka and a more than healthy amount of distrust for the Fire Nation. They had traveled there in order to prevail on Chief Arnook the importance of establishing a strong working relationship with the United Republic of Nations. Other than the Earth Kingdom, the Northern Water Tribe was the closest state to the fledgling Republic. Trade was to be the lifeblood of the new nation and without Chief Arnook’s willingness to engage, the so far unprecedented growth might have been set back greatly. 

Most of the Northern Water Tribe treated Azula with barely contained disgust, and their once high estimation of Sokka seemed to wane, when they became aware that he was dating another Princess. This time, a disgraced former enemy. A few particularly bold and arrogant warriors had voiced such publicly statements at a feast in their honor one night. Chief Arnook, spirits bless his soul, did what he could to quell the dispute but not before Sokka had risen fiercely to her defense. Standing in front of a whole host of his Northern kinsmen, Sokka had loudly denounced them and their bigoted ways, before taking her hand and leading them out of the hall. 

That was the night he had shown her the spiritual oasis at the top of the world and what lay inside. He had confessed why she would sometimes find him on their balcony staring wistfully at the moon and stars. At the far corner of the world they had cemented their relationship. Or at least Sokka had cemented his feelings for her. Azula had already determined long before that day, before she had ever taken the warrior in her arms, that he would be the one for her. Yes, he made the worst jokes and named all his inventions absurd things that she would have to surreptitiously change the name on the patent before submitting, but he was the only one capable of making her feel safe, of making her happy and calm. That wasn’t something she was ever going to give up, and she had decided that long before he had fully let her into his heart. 

Azula realized they had been walking in silence for sometime, drifting off as she did sometimes in her own thoughts. She was no longer on exorbitant amounts of medication, the therapy had worked far more wonders for her than being stuffed full of every type of pill imaginable. Sokka’s presence helped her greatly as well, but at the end of the day, she had reclaimed her own mind, overcoming all of the trauma and pain inflicted on her by her parents. She was shook from her reverie by her husband’s hand on her shoulder, a knowing smile on his face. 

“Come on Princess, if we don’t hurry you’ll only be left with sea prune stew.” Sokka said whilst laughing. 

She had gotten used to many of the delicacies offered in the South Pole, but she still hated one of the water tribe’s signature dishes. Not the taste, the sea prunes weren’t the worst thing she had ever eaten in that department… It was the consistency. Something that slimy shouldn’t be forced on anyone.

Reaching the dining hall, Azula inwardly cursed again. Most of the larger meats and dishes had been picked at and devoured already. Sitting in two large cauldrons, over a low fire, being kept alight by her daughter, the sea prune stew taunted Azula. Zalia waved at her parents when she saw them enter, before going back to animatedly talk to her friends who were observing her casual firebending with a mixture of awe and fear. 

Though the war had been over for years, there were still many in the tribe who had family members taken or lost in the fighting. Some wounds wouldn’t heal so quickly. Zalia and Kyan, thankfully were well adjusted and sociable children, which brought them many friends throughout the tribe. Something they luckily inherited from their father and not her. They had a healthy sibling rivalry, nothing like Azula’s own relationship with her idiot brother growing up. Sokka said it reminded him of his own upbringing with Katara. If she could avoid her children ending up like the blasted waterbender, that would be its own blessing.

Kyan was carrying two plates filled to the brim with seal jerky and crab legs piled high on a stack of rice. He handed the plate in his right hand to his mother with a grin. “Dad told me to run ahead and get you anything but sea prune’s.” 

“Thank you Kyan. Go, run along and eat with your friends.” Azula smiled at her son who had been so happy to please her. 

She found a spot at an empty table and sat down contentedly, her oaf of a partner was maneuvering through a mass of people while trying to balance three entire bowls of sea prune stew. With a rare grace that wouldn’t be expected of someone so foolish, he successfully navigated to the bench and sat down beside her with a loud sigh. 

“Can you believe it, some little urchin of a firebender took the last of the seal jerky!” Sokka fake moaned as he ladled a healthy portion of stew into his mouth with a wooden spoon. 

Waiting for him to finish gulping down his first bite, she knocked the spoon from his hand as he went for a second helping. The spoon fell back into the bowl with a small splash. 

“Hey!” Sokka protested vehemently. 

A sad look crossed his face at being denied the satisfaction of another bite. Rolling her eyes at his juvenile antics, Azula inched closer and cupped the side of his face, capturing his lips in a reasonably chaste kiss. She even handled the taste of the sea prune stew on his tongue, and her sister-in-law had the audacity to claim she was incapable of love? 

“I’ve decided due to your thoughtfulness to allow you to share some of my jerky.” Azula said. 

Sokka’s mouth turned upwards as he eyed the pile of seal meat on her plate with longing. “Some! I said, savage. Leave a little for me.” She snarled at him. 

With a pitiful groan, Sokka took a small helping of the cured meat and ravenously devoured it. 

“Glutton.” Azula said disgustedly. 

He simply shrugged before beaming at her. “Hey, you’re the one who chose to marry me.” 

“A choice I regret more and more each day.” She said with a mock shudder. 

They turned back to their food, eating in a comfortable silence. A few members of the tribe came over asking for advice from the pair during their lunch. Azula did her level best to not be annoyed with the interruptions. While Sokka simply wouldn’t stop prattling about the best ways to help the interlopers with their problems. She was mercifully saved from any more annoyances by the arrival of the High Chief. 

The tribe members greeted their leader before scurrying off. Hakoda looked more serious than normal and Sokka’s demeanor stiffened. “What is it Dad?” He said quietly. 

“I’ll be making an announcement at dinner tonight, but I thought you two should know earlier than everyone else, we’re going to have company for the feast of the Summer Solstice.” Hakoda said.

Azula pondered this for a moment before sighing. “I take it that means…” She trailed off, her fingernails digging into the wooden lacquer of the table. 

Hakoda nodded with an inscrutable expression on his face. “Your siblings and their children will arrive in two weeks.”

Sokka glanced between them both, a worried look manifesting itself. “Well, it uhh can’t go any worse than last time right?” 

______________________________________________________________________   
  


“Are you sure you want to come? If I were you, I wouldn’t want to see my idiot brother either.” 

The Fire Lady sat in an impressive ornate chair. In front of her a pair of Kyoshi Warriors stood stiff and unmoving. “It’s been over a decade. I’d like to think I’ve moved on and can handle seeing them.” The elder of the two warriors said glumly. 

“You’re the lucky one, Suki. Clearly his mental faculties aren’t all there if he would rather be with her instead of you.” The younger warrior glanced at the Fire Lady in dismay, realizing what she had said. “I meant no disrespect, I’m sorry, your Ladyship.” The young woman looked down at her feet, bashfully while bowing as low as the traditional armor of the Kyoshi would allow. 

“It’s fine Koko. Sokka was… is a fool for running off with  _ her _ when he could have been with Suki here. I always thought he had ingested a shade too much cactus juice on our adventures, and his life decisions have done more than enough to prove that fact correct.” Katara grinned at the newest addition to the Kyoshi Warriors. 

Color returned to Koko’s face and the girl exhaled softly. Katara chuckled softly at the reaction. “Don’t worry, if I was upset with every person who called my brother an idiot, I’d find myself fighting my way across the four nations.” The Fire Lady said laughingly. 

Both Kyoshi Warriors dutifully laughed, before they spun around as the door to the chambers was thrown open with a loud bang. Suki’s hand went to her blade, drawing it with a flourish while Koko drew her fans and dropped into a defensive posture. 

The Fire Lord offered an awkward apology as he strolled into the room. His wife scowled at him as he entered. “How many times has Suki requested that you knock before you just barge into places. You’re lucky you didn’t end up with a fan through the gut.” Katara tutted at him. 

The warriors bowed again at both royals as Zuko took a seat next to his wife. The disciples of Kyoshi exited the room quickly and quietly, much the opposite of the Fire Lord’s entrance. Zuko rubbed his temples as he hunched over the side of the oversized chair that Katara reclined in. “A long day?” She said soothingly, an arm reaching out to gently rub the back of his neck. 

Zuko let out a strangled murmur. “You know, how it’s been. The advisers won’t stop pestering me. This succession issue is only gaining steam. The Fire Sages are split but the majority have sided against us. If the Head Sage throws his support with them, well our days could be numbered.” Zuko sighed. 

He lifted his head from his hands and stared into the cerulean blue of his lover’s eyes. “The whispers are getting louder. I’d like to think that she won’t hear them all the way at the South Pole, and that even if she did, that they would be ignored, but it’s hard to give her the benefit of the doubt isn’t it?” 

Lines of worry crossed the stressed face of the monarch. Katara reached out a hand, gently caressing just below his scar. “We have to believe in them, as much as it might pain us. The thought keeps me up at night sometimes too. It’s only natural. It’s hard to forget the things that happened during the war. What she did to Aang… but my oaf of a brother, is right unfortunately.” 

Zuko raised an eyebrow at Katara’s declaration. 

“Well, we all forgave you, and if I recall, Azula never would have been able to attack Aang if not for a certain someone helping her.” Zuko hung his head in shame, but Katara had a sly grin on her face. “It was a long time ago dear, and you more than made up for it. During the war and after.” As she said the last word, Katara reached into the front of his robe and the cold flesh of her hand contacted his warm chest. 

Zuko shuddered at the touch before glaring at her. “You’re trying to distract me!”

“Well it beats having to talk about our upcoming trip. Doesn’t it?” Katara muttered. 

The Fire Lord grimaced and nodded slightly in acknowledgment that it was in fact much better than having to discuss their plans. “The kids will be older now and more mature. It shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as when they came here.” He said. 

This time it was Katara’s turn to frown. “You remember how it was, their infernal children, showing off their firebending nonstop in front of Iroh and Nizu and all their friends. They were constantly taunting and harassing them, especially their oldest. Somehow they inherited the worst traits of both of them.” The Fire Lady scowled as she remembered their families last visit to the Fire Nation. 

“Be reasonable Katara.” Zuko pleaded. “Don’t you think that was probably because when we visited the South Pole the year earlier, Sokka complained to us about our children doing the very same thing? I’m sure it can’t be easy for them being the only firebenders in an entire civilization. Besides their teacher is Azula… that alone should be enough for you to feel some sympathy for your niece and nephew.” He finished with a small smile. 

At that at least, Katara laughed aloud. She grew somber again after a moment’s time. “It doesn’t make sense. Why was I able to forgive you so easily, and yet I still carry such a spark of distrust for your sister.” 

He stared at her in disbelief for a second before laughing. “Forgive me so easily? Need I remind you that you threatened to casually murder me if I stepped out of line!” Zuko whined a trace of amusement present in his voice. 

A wide toothy grin spread across Katara’s face. “And I stand by that threat mister. One toe out of line, and it’ll be the end of you. At last the Water Tribe’s coup d'etat will be complete. We will have had our revenge.” Katara feigned a mock evil laugh. 

Her husband groaned loudly at the bad joke. “Please I try to draw the line at two insane members of my family. Let’s try and not make it a third. Even if it was a bad joke.” 

Katara grumbled softly that her joke wasn’t that bad. Zuko continued unabated; “Look I get it, I still have some of the same fears when it comes to her. Every year it gets a little better, she’s been down at the South Pole or helping turn Republic City into a thriving metropolis. Everything she does turns to gold. She’s helped make your childhood home an entirely brand new place in less than a generation. It’s absurd. She’s good at everything she does. She was insane fifteen years ago for Agni’s sake and now she’s established two flourishing places. 

But, I still can’t shake the thought that one day she will throw everything away. Leave your brother, leave their children, and come for me in the dark of the night. I know it’s wrong that I don’t trust her. Azula isn’t the type of person to wait fifteen years to enact her revenge. If she wanted the throne she would have challenged me for it a long time ago. The whispers, though. They scare me…” As Zuko finished speaking, Katara gently placed her hands in his.

“I know, between Ozai’s old loyalists, and the new faction who think our children aren’t fit to sit the Fire Throne just because they are waterbenders, well everything’s tenuous now. But, we get to take a nice family vacation. Visit my dad and Malina, see the Southern Lights, maybe even go penguin sledding with the kids!” Katara’s face lit up in remembrance of the memories she had at the South Pole. 

“Yeah, as long as our kids and theirs don’t get into a fight and blow anything up this time…” Zuko muttered under his breath. 

“What was that honey?” Katara’s eyes flashed dangerously.

“Nothing, love! Nothing, at all.” He smiled at her softly, but the smile never reached his eyes.


	3. Sokkla Saturdays- Arranged Marriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this week I chose Arranged Marriage. I'm quite proud of this little AU. I may just revisit it for an expanded story one day:D

  
  


Prompt 3:

He was seven and she was five, the first time Sokka saw his betrothed. A slight girl, yet, bold and tempestuous, Princess Azula introduced herself with a smile after an encouraging nudge from her mother. When Sokka reached his hand out to grasp her forearm in the traditional water tribe greeting, she conjured a thin wisp of a flame that nearly charred his palm. She smiled sweetly at him and bowed low in the manner of the Fire Nation, a custom that Sokka had never seen before. She turned her back then and they only saw each other twice more briefly at dinners before Lady Ursa and General Ozai left the South Pole. 

He was nine, no, nine and a half and she was celebrating her eighth nameday celebration, the second time he saw his betrothed. His sister told him to give her a nice doll made from the finest toymakers in the Southern Water Tribe. He spent the entirety of his allowance on the present. She had accepted it with all the grace befitting her royal bloodline. A smile played on her pale features before she incinerated the cloth plaything. He had never felt more dejected. 

His mother tried to explain that sometimes young girls would tease and bully the boys that they actually liked, but it didn’t feel anything like that to him. They stayed in Caldera City for three days after the celebration. 

His father was absent, locked away in meetings with the Fire Lord and his generals. The war against the Earth Kingdom was going well, but there had been setbacks. A Northern Water Tribe Fleet had engaged their forces near the Western Air Temple. Only the quick thinking of Admiral Bato and the assistance of the Air Nomad’s had been able to drive back the combined forces of the King Kuei and Warchief Arnook

Hakoda had told them the story of how he became lifelong friends with General Ozai, the second son of the late Fire Lord Azulon. It had quickly become one of his and Katara’s favorites. Hakoda had been escorting a small convoy of Fire Nation troops to the siege of Omashu. They had been ambushed by a massive armada of reinforcements from Ba Sing Se. They fought their way through the ambush but their ship, the lone survivor, took heavy damage and sank off the coast near the Foggy Swamp. Ozai was knocked unconscious when the blasting jelly in the ship's cargo hold exploded, tearing the ship in half. Debris from the ship was large enough for Hakoda to pull Ozai aboard. After a few hours of being inert, adrift at sea, the Prince had awoken. The pair were able to successfully kick their way to safety using their makeshift raft. The mangroves of the Foggy Swamp kept them in the water, a little longer than they wanted. 

His father told him about the hallucinations that the swamp had caused the pair. Ozai had claimed to have seen his grandfather, Fire Lord Sozin, as well as his young wife, Princess Ursa. Hakoda for his part could not deny that the hallucinations were very much a real phenomena. His father who had been dead for fifteen years appeared to him, guiding him towards the light. Eventually they had found a civilization of waterbenders in hiding. They had been attacked for many years by the Earth Kingdom, and had taken refuge further and further inside the swamp, where even the merciless troops of Kuei wouldn’t come. The denizens of the swamp had led them to safety, alight with the prospect of helping one of their long lost cousins from the Southern Water Tribe. Hakoda did his best to not mention that they were also at war with their “cousins'' from the Northern Tribe. 

The day after the feast in honor of his betrothed, Sokka had sought her out with his sister. The siblings found the Princess playing in the gardens with two of her friends that they had met at the celebration. The acrobatic young girl was practicing cartwheels while the other, much more sardonic one, sulked near the edge of a fountain. The Princess was located between them, playing with her firebending. Her flames were a strange mixture of blue and orange. 

Sokka had seen blue fire of course, when the campfires burned their brightest, sometimes near the base of the pile, the flames would turn blue. He had only ever seen a few firebenders before and none of them had the capacity to make flames that were anything other than orange or various shades of red. Watching her bend was amazing. She was clearly a prodigy like his father had told him, like his sister was. Not for the first time, Sokka experienced jealousy at being unable to manipulate an element. At being  _ lesser _ . 

His mother Kya did his best to soothe his concerns, but even at his young age, he could see the swelling of pride in his mother’s eyes when she saw Katara becoming an obscenely talented waterbender for her age. Hama, the greatest waterbender of their tribe retired from fighting on the front due to her advanced age and had been personally instructing his sister for two years now. Katara was able to best benders five years her senior. Meanwhile Sokka was stuck throwing around his boomerang and honing his skills with a club against tiger-seals. 

Katara bended water out of the fountain, and the acrobat and the Princess looked on in fascination. It was probable they had never seen a waterbender in action before. Katara fashioned a whip before transitioning it into a set of eight octopus looking arms. She had just mastered that technique after a fairly lengthy struggle. She lifted the water above her and turned it into a sheet of ice. The ice slowly drifted over Sokka’s head as he scowled at his sister. Living together in the South Pole, Sokka knew with great certainty what was coming. The ice turned back into water and fell to the earth, Sokka threw up his arms, but it was pointless against such a great deluge. He was drenched from head to toe. His sister and the two girls giggled. Even the quiet one sitting on the side of the fountain was smirking at him. 

The Princess walked up to him and glared. He was almost a head taller than her, but she made him feel small. “Well?” She said expectantly. “Aren’t you going to show me what you can do?” 

Sokka looked down at his feet dejectedly. His sister jumped to his aid. “Sokka isn’t a bender, like we are Azula. He’s really good with his boomerang though! You should see it, he can hit anything. It’s amazing.” The raven haired girl looked at her fellow Princess skeptically. 

“Meh, I’m not really interested in a savages’ weapon.” She figuratively spat. 

Sokka gripped his boomerang that he had taken out excitedly in his hand. He stormed from the room, ignoring Katara’s apologetic glance. Behind him as he exited the garden, he heard the acrobat scolding his betrothed. It made no difference to him. 

He confided in his father, the day before they were due to leave the Fire Nation capital. Warchief Hakoda looked at his son with sympathy in his eyes. “I’ve got just the idea for you, kiddo.”

_________________________________________________________________________

“And what makes you think you are worthy of being taught by me, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe? Just because you’re a prince and the son of the chief doesn’t mean I should waste my time on you.” Piandao, the famous swordmaster glared down at the boy. 

“I-I don’t think I’m worthy Master Piandao, sir. But I have all these expectations on me, that I’ll be the future of my tribe, that I’ll protect them, that I’ll keep my sister, and everyone else safe, and I can’t do it. My sister’s stronger than me, and she just turned eight. All I’ve got is a boomerang… I need to be better. I need to be able to protect her. I-I don’t want Azula to be embarrassed by me either.” He said the last sentence in almost a whisper. 

Something in Piandao’s eyes softened. “I train the young Prince Zuko, as well, maybe you’ve heard. He is very proficient with the dao blades. You may get the opportunity to spar with him on occasion when he comes to visit.” 

Sokka’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Does that mean you’re going to train me with the Dao Blades?” 

“I think not, I’ve got something special in mind for you, young Prince.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

He spent the better part of a full year residing at Piandao’s mansion on Shu Jing Island. It was different being so far away from home for so long. He had traveled to the Southern Water Tribe’s colonies of course with his father and mother. Kyoshi Island had a nice vacation home that their family sometimes visited when the chief was back from war. He and Katara would often play with the locals on the nice beaches. Yet, he had never been away from his entire family for so long. 

His time with Piandao was exhilarating though. Zuko visited every other month for a couple weeks at a time. The Fire Nation Prince was much more talented with his blades than Sokka started out. Their training was so heavily one-sided at the beginning that Sokka began to despair that he was wasting everyone’s time. 

Slowly though, he improved. He lasted longer and longer in his spars with his master and against Zuko. Their movements and attacks gradually seemed slower, he began to anticipate rather than just react. Sokka began to realize what was a feint, and what was a real attack. Six months into his training, Sokka’s jian caught a downward slash from Zuko, and knocked it from the elder boy’s grasp. Faced with an adversary utilizing only one blade rather than his customary two, Sokka made short work of the Fire Prince. 

His joy and exuberance at defeating his partner was short-lived. The next seven matchups went to Zuko, but the mental block had been hurdled. Sokka’s improvements were more gradual afterwards, but as they neared the end of his year of training, he won just as often as he lost. The final week of his training was spent not practicing so much as it was preparing. Piandao outlined new lessons for Sokka to attempt to master when he had returned home to the South Pole. They also began working on a sword specifically crafted for the growing boy. 

With Piandao, he crafted a new blade tailored for him and him alone. They were careful to craft it a little on the large side, anticipating that Sokka would naturally continue to grow into the weapon. The blade was normal steel, but when the process was almost done, Piandao coated the jian sword in an acidic solution. Sokka began to whine that they were ruining their hard work, but Piandao just laughed at him and told him to observe without being so hasty. 

They let the solution lay dormant on the armament for three hours, where it had already started to rust. The weapon was then lowered carefully by Sokka, following Piandao’s instruction to the T, into a vat of boiling water. When the sword was removed after a few minutes, the acid had been stripped off by the boiling water and the color of the blade had changed from a basic steel to a beautiful blue with hints of orange throughout. Sokka expressed gratitude to his master for such a unique gift. Sokka never told anyone that it reminded him of her flames.

Sokka traveled to the Fire Nation Royal Palace with Zuko after a year of training at Piandao’s manse. His family was to gather him from there. There was hope that if they made good time they could make it in time for his tenth nameday. 

Unfortunately, his nameday celebration was a muted affair. The tides endeavoured to keep them separated until after the important day had passed. Lady Ursa was kind and threw a small feast in his honor, even Fire Lord Iroh himself stopped by and said a few hospitable words. It felt different without Katara harassing him of course, without his mother’s warm embrace protecting him from the cold of the polar seasons. His father missed his nameday’s more often than not, as far as Sokka could remember. The war was every present. 

His betrothed still treated him with a healthy dose of scorn, despite Lady Ursa’s best attempts to set them up in situations for the pair to try and become friends. It was frustrating, being friends with Zuko was easy enough. The boy was slightly awkward and had been isolated from most contact with children his age other than his sister and her friends. It was strange at first, but the two princes became fast friends. This had only seemed to lessen his estimation in Azula’s eyes. Her disdain for him was only matched by her daily annoyance at her older brother. No matter what he did, she wanted nothing to do with him, he was at least growing more and more used to her poisonous barbs. He didn’t need to be a bender to be worth something. Piandao had taught him that. 

Zuko and he took to the royal training grounds to pass the time. Outside of their master’s instruction, the two still strived to best each other in every battle. The royal master-at-arms observed their bout with interest. From the corner of his eye, Sokka noticed that they had two hidden observers. 

Not wanting to embarrass himself in front of the Princess, Sokka took a deep breath and plotted a strategy that he had been waiting to use against Zuko for sometime. Now seemed as an appropriate time as any. He couldn’t look like a fool in front of her. She already thought he was weak, if he couldn’t even beat Zuko now after all the practice over the last year, her estimation of him might never change. He wouldn’t be, no, he couldn’t be a failure. 

Sokka was normally a patient fighter. Sussing out his opponents weaknesses and strategies was his most preferred method. He had, however, spent more than enough time fighting Zuko to know his standard techniques and opening moves. This would likely only work a singular time, the firebender would be aware and cognizant of the move ever after. 

The Fire Princeling leaped forward aiming twin slashes high and towards his neck. Rather than step back and try to put some distance between himself and his opponent, Sokka dropped his new jian blade on the ground. It hit the cobblestone floor of the training ground with a clatter. He rolled under the slash and launched himself headlong into a tackle. A look of surprise crossed Zuko’s face but by then it was already far too late. As Sokka dragged them both to the ground, the Dao blades of the firebender escaped his grip. A small knife was pulled out as they tumbled towards the ground and within seconds it was pressed lightly at Zuko’s uncovered neck. 

Scowling as the master-at-arms called the spar finished, Zuko pushed Sokka off of him and stormed from the grounds. He always was such a bad and ungraceful loser. From their spot behind a pillar, Azula and her friend Ty Lee eyed him. Sokka made eye contact with his betrothed, and gave a small wave. The Princess glared at him with an indescribable look. Sokka dared to dream that he had impressed her. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Kya and Katara came to collect him from the Fire Nation Palace three days later. Zuko had recovered from his ignominious defeat and the two friends had spent their last days together causing as much mischief as possible. They had even managed to find their way into Fire Lord Iroh’s chambers through a hidden passage from the arboreum. Azula and Mai had come with them during that adventure. For some reason his friend acted weird around Mai. When he confronted the Fire Prince about it later, Zuko claimed that it was no different than how Sokka acted around Azula. As if.

He returns to the South Pole in two minds. He missed his good friend back in the Fire Nation and training everyday with Piandao provided structure and purpose. It was much harder to train back home, with the expansive duties already expected of him. With so many of the men gone fighting in the war, Sokka was one of the oldest remaining boys. A slew of the elder teenagers had just set off for Whaletail Island, the forward base of the Southern Water Tribe. 

He was expected to train the youngest as best he could. He was expected to lead the hunts. He was expected to helm the fleet as they went to the fishing grounds in search of haddock and char. It was all so much pressure, for a boy that hadn’t even seen his eleventh nameday.

Every day was a new struggle and new challenge for him. Being back in the south was definitely different. The luxuries and relaxation that the Fire Nation provided was gone, theirs was a much harsher living. At least the Water Tribe colonies provided raw goods and materials for the pole. Gran-Gran still told stories of when she was a girl, after she had escaped the ruthless Northern Water Tribe. The South then had been much smaller, confined only to the icy floes and snow swept lands of their tiny continent. The people truly eked out a living on the barest edges. Every winter there had been a chance entire villages would disappear and not survive the harsh climate. 

His sister’s waterbending had progressed to such an advanced level that they were able to practice together. She would bend spears of ice and send them hurtling towards him. Hama expressed dissatisfaction that Katara didn’t spend more time working with the other waterbenders rather than her nonbending brother, but that didn’t stop them. 

Their playful bouts helped make up for the year that the siblings were apart. Sokka could tell that his sister was grateful for his new skills and their new bonding activity. She still threw snowballs at him, when he wasn’t looking and he still tried to toss her into snow drifts whenever she let her guard down. It was almost like nothing had changed. 

_________________________________________________________________________

His first kiss wasn’t with his betrothed. It happened when his family visited their vacation home on Kyoshi Island. His father was back for a few weeks rest from the front. He requested that the family meet him at their spacious bungalow near the beach. During the stay, Sokka and Katara interacted with a number of the locals. They even went to a party with a slew of islanders around their age. 

Most of the residents of Kyoshi had a favorable view of the Southern Water Tribe. The Earth Kingdom had largely ignored the island for hundreds of years, it of course being so far away from Ba Sing Se. Under their father’s rule, trade had increased dramatically and a small military base was set up on the island. There was a constant flow of goods and a second village was set up to house many of the sailors and warriors who would call the island home while they waited to deploy in battle against King Kuei’s legions. 

Hakoda had been very hands off. None of the customs of the island were banned and their support for their titular Avatar was not contested. The tribe just asked for taxation rights to be paid and for the towns to exist in harmony. The denizens of the island were more than hospitable to pay the increased taxes because their revenues had increased far more than the slight increase in taxation, due to trade and the growing population. 

Katara had just turned thirteen, and his fifteenth nameday was still near a half year away. Their mother and father encouraged them to attend the party, likely to get the bungalow all to themselves. The thought made Sokka shudder. He would steer clear from sitting on any of the surfaces until after a servantone of the servants had done a thorough cleaning of the home.

The party was a raucous affair. It took place on the white sand beaches of the island. Three large bonfires were built and kept going strong by a pair of young firebenders who were on the island due to their warship being docked at the Water Tribe village for a spate of rest and relaxation. Two oaken barrels full of ale were procured by someone and the famous elderberry wine of Kyoshi Island was ever present. Sokka kept a meaningful eye on his sister throughout the night, but the young girl was having more than enough fun showing off her waterbending and facilitating a number of absurd drinking games that she thankfully wasn’t partaking in directly. 

“I know who you are.” A soft voice said from behind him. 

Sokka was standing alone by the smallest of the three bonfires. The firebenders hadn’t been around to reignite this one in some time. They were barely standing in all truthfulness after the amount of wine they had ingested. He turned to see a beautiful teenage girl, roughly his age, maybe a year older. 

He smiled softly at her, their faces illuminated by the flickering flames. “Then I’m afraid you’ve got me a disadvantage Miss…”

“Suki. My name’s Suki. We uhh, we actually played together when we were much younger, I was maybe five. It was at the beach by your family's home. I had wandered off and gotten lost from the commoners beach and your mother was kind and let you and your sister play with me for the day, until my parents were found. I’ve been scolded about it by my father every day since then. Us Kyoshi aren’t meant to mingle with royalty.” 

Staring at her face, Sokka tried to recall the memory but was coming up blank. “It’s okay that you can’t remember.” Suki said quietly and observantly. “For you it was just another fun day at your second or third or eighth home, whatever this place is for your family. But for me, it was seared in my memory. I played with the Prince and the Princess. I met the Warchief and Chieftess. It’s not something that a little girl can forget.” She finished with a chuckle. 

“Well then,” He began, looking into her blue eyes. (the girl clearly had some Water Tribe in her lineage) “I’ll have to make up for my forgetfulness by making tonight worthy of remembrance.” Suki laughed again, and Sokka felt a rush of excitement work it’s way through his chest and reddened his face. 

They spent the entire evening talking and dancing. They only played a few of the communal drinking games, and neither of them really imbibed a significant amount during the festivities. Content as they were with each other’s company, it was one of the best nights of Sokka’s young life. Talking to Suki was easy. It was enjoyable. She didn’t attack him at every turn, instead she listened when he spoke about the stress and worries he had. She didn’t make him question his worth or quality. She never made him feel inferior or weak during their conversations or by her actions. It felt wholesome being with her. 

He walked her back to the Kyoshi native’s village, once he made sure that Katara was safely making it back to their bungalow. Suki’s home was on a small hill, near the outskirts of the town. He could just see the outline of the statute of Avatar Kyoshi in the darkness. 

“Thank you for tonight.” He said nervously. “I’m really glad you uhh- decided to talk to me. I promise I won’t forget about today, like I forgot about the day we played together.” Sokka grinned at her as she laughed.

Suki leaned in closer to him, and not even a young man as inexperienced as Sokka could miss the signs being given. He closed the distance and hesitantly captured her lips with his own. The girl sighed in contentment and they broke the kiss after a few seconds. They smiled at each other with uncertainty, before he pressed his luck again. This time the moment lasted far longer and some of the nervous energy was gone. 

When they separated again, Suki looked up at him, a smile on her delicate features. “I’ve been wanting you to do that for hours, you know that?” she said. 

“Err- Sorry for keeping you waiting then.”

The islander giggled. “It’s totally fine. Thank you for tonight, Prince Sokka.”

A lantern turned on from inside the house, illuminating the pair. “Time to go, I guess.” Suki said sheepishly as she dropped his hands and gave a small wave as she walked into the home. 

“Bye.” He said to no one in particular, she was already gone. 

As he walked back to his family’s bungalow, Sokka reflected on the evening. There was one thought that he couldn’t shake. Suki said she had been waiting for him to kiss her for hours. The thought ran roughshod through his brain for the entire journey. If Azula wanted something she would go get it. The Princess wouldn’t hesitate, she exhibits no restraint. Nothing like the softness and reticence of Suki. Sokka solemnly realized that he preferred the former. With a groan, he saluted one of the guards standing outside the home and sought out his bedroom, sleep claiming him at long last. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Sokka was only a year away from being of age to go to war. His father commanded that he return to finish training with Master Piandao. When Sokka protested that his duties at the tribe that he only now was growing into would be neglected, Hakoda simply smiled at him. 

“Your sister is more than capable of handling those duties. Katara’s had you teaching and leading for almost her entire life hasn’t she? Unless you think you’ve done a poor job and set a bad example…?” The warchief trailed off, eyeing his son with a playful grin. 

He shook his head. “Good, then you’ll spend a half year with your Sword Master, honing your physical skills. The second half of the year will be spent in the Fire Nation. I’ve written to Iroh and asked him to include you in his counsels. Stay out of the way and do not irritate the Fire Lord, Sokka.” His father shot him a knowing glance. “Learn from him. Observe his leadership abilities and qualities. He’s a good man and a great leader in that order, mind you. When the year has run its course, I’ll send for you to join us at one of the front’s my son.” Grasping his father’s forearm, they bade each other a grave farewell at the thought. 

His goodbyes with his mother and sister were much more emotional. Tears wouldn’t stop flowing from his mother’s eyes. Her shoulders heaved as she sorrowfully held him tight against her. He was almost a half foot taller than her now, but he never felt more small. It might be years before he saw the South Pole and his mother again.

“Come back to me Sokka. I already get a thousand grey hairs waiting for your father to return.” He nodded, a lump forming in his throat, tears unbidden at the edges of his eyes. “You’re so smart, my Sokka. I know you’ll make the Tribe proud.” Katara joined them in a bone crushing hug. Kya kissed his cheek before leaving her two children alone. 

“Keep everyone safe sis. Watch out for Gran-Gran. She steals the seal jerky sometimes if you don’t keep an eye on her.” Katara’s laugh was strangled through her tears. 

“I’ll keep it in mind. I’ll only be missing you for a little while longer. Hama says I’m almost a master now. I won’t let them keep me away from the fronts. Someone’s gotta look out for you, when you get yourself into trouble.” 

Sokka sputtered out a half-hearted protest which caused his sister to only laugh harder. 

“Please, remember how that whale almost ate you?” 

“Cause I was trying to capture the seal-lion! That wasn’t my fault!” 

“Yeah, and you’d be in his belly right now if I hadn’t pulled the ice floe you were on to safety.” She smiled at him. 

“I guess it’s useful having a prodigious bender for a sister…” He smirked at her, kissing her forehead softly. “I’ll try to leave the Northern Water Tribe unconquered, until you can join me sis.” 

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

Training with Piandao was different when he returned. His spars were exclusively with his Master. Fat no longer proved a challenge, and only participated when they were trying to simulate combat against multiple opponents at once. Prince Zuko had stopped training with his Dao blades a few years back, as he grew more serious about his firebending. Sokka felt more alone, without his companion, but he had little time for rest. Piandao was a stickler for details, never harsh but constantly demanding the best of Sokka.

As they reached the final day that Sokka would be staying on Shu Jing, a sense of sadness overtook him. He had come to think of the manor as a second home, a place where he had stopped being the paltry non-bender he originally saw himself as and became someone who wouldn’t be a liability to his people. 

A lavish dinner was set out for the student and the teacher. Piandao discussed some drills and strategies for Sokka to hone and practice on as the young man would soon have to train on his own again. 

“At this point, the only true teacher for you now is that of experience. I’ve passed on every piece of wisdom as it relates to swordsmanship that I know. You’re a master in your own right now Sokka. At a far younger age than any I’ve ever had the privilege of teaching. Always wield your blade as if it is part of you. I wish you luck, and remember sometimes not swinging the sword is the harder choice.” Piandao’s last words echoed in his mind for quite some time.

_________________________________________________________________________

Zuko wasn’t at the Royal Palace when he arrived. The firebender had just reached the age of majority and was assisting his cousin Lu Ten’s campaign to wrest control of Full Moon Bay from the Earth King. In fact, his betrothed and her friends were also absent, on a tour of the Fire Nation colonies with Lady Ursa and Iroh’s wife Lady Lozami. 

The days were passed by acting as a fly on the wall at the Fire Lord’s war councils and various other meetings. A few were considered so top secret or pertaining to sensitive subjects that he was ushered out by the Fire Lord himself, but he was allowed to observe the vast majority of them as they related to the war effort. To his surprise, the Fire Lord would often ask him simple questions or inquire about what Sokka would do in certain situations. He was always careful and deliberate with his answers, not wishing to embarrass his father or the Tribe. 

It was in the aftermath of one such meeting regarding how to manage a potential siege of Ba Sing Se, that the Fire Lord extended a personal invitation for Sokka to join him for tea in his parlor. An invitation from the most powerful man in the world was of course, no such thing, rather it was a firm command that Sokka had no choice but to dutifully accept. 

The Fire Lord was already seated on a plush pillow when Sokka entered the room. A small table was directly in front of the monarch, upon which two ornamental ivory cups rested alongside a traditional clay teapot. 

Beside the tea set was an ornate Pai Sho board. The Fire Lord was separating the pieces with a low hum when the man noticed that he had entered the room. 

“Prince Sokka! Come sit with me. We’ve not had time to chat, just the two of us. Have we?” Iroh appeared genial and pleasant, but Sokka had seen the man rise to anger during more than enough meetings by now to underestimate how quickly his jovial mood could disappear. 

“Only briefly, at my welcome feast.” Sokka replied, clippedly. 

The Fire Lord inclined his head in agreement. “Just so. I couldn’t help but take note of the advice you gave today when prompted.” Iroh carefully poured two equal cups of tea. When he finished, the monarch placed the cups on saucers and passed one to Sokka, a satisfied smile on his lips. “Your advice, quite frankly, was terrible.”

Sokka flushed in embarrassment at first which quickly turned into indignation. The prince opened his mouth to defend himself but Iroh waved a hand cutting him off. “I think you’re much smarter than you’ve allowed us to see in those meetings. Today, for instance you simply agreed with the suggestions of War Minister Quyin as it pertained to a siege of Ba Sing Se. War Minister Quyin’s suggestions about military strategies are horrific. I utilize that man because he is a master of managing logistics and mobilizing our economy to help us in the war. His outlook one warfare, well it leaves much to be desired.” Sokka tried to speak again but the Fire Lord was not finished. 

“Simply put, young Prince Sokka, I can tell that you have real opinions that you want to contribute, but you instead choose to parrot and agree with whatever a different advisor has said that day. I see how keenly you observe all the information during our meetings. I don’t think that’s what you suggest is really what you have wanted to say. Which leads me to question why you are acting in this manner. Are you afraid that your ideas will be shot down? Are you worried that your suggestions will be ignored?” The Fire Lord waved his hand while sipping his tea, granting permission for Sokka to speak at last. 

He inhaled deeply. The Fire Lord was far more observant than Sokka had given him credit for, he couldn’t underestimate him. “It was a level of fear that held me back. I didn’t want to speak out of turn or offer advice that might put me at odds with your counsel. I also worried about bringing shame to my Tribe by being impertinent, Your Majesty.” Sokka bowed his head in shame. 

Iroh observed him keenly before taking Sokka by surprise and laughing uproariously. “If only my advisers cared so much about bringing shame with their own counsels! Tell me, Prince Sokka, what would you really have said today in the meeting with no concerns of reprisal or fear of embarrassment.” A servant came carrying a tray of biscuits and cookies that the pair accepted gratefully. 

The Fire Lord was one of the few men in the world that Sokka found had an appetite to match his own. Sokka took a smile bite of the mint flavored treat while he considered his words. 

“If you’ll forgive my bluntness Sir, but the plans put forward were terrible as you said, and I’m sorry for agreeing with them rather than giving you my own thoughts. It won’t happen again.” Iroh nodded for him to continue. “If it makes you feel any better, I always tried to echo the least bad plan presented by your advisers.” The Fire Lord almost spat out his tea at that confession, and Sokka involuntarily smiled slightly before continuing. 

“I think we’re looking at winning this war all wrong. Ba Sing Se isn’t going to fall to a half-baked siege. There is still much of the Earth Kingdom that remains independent not counting their capital city. Sieging a place that is self sufficient, unless it can be stormed is an exercise in futility. Our efforts should be directed at defeating the remaining Earth Kingdom cities and towns outside of Ba Sing Se as well as finally removing their greatest ally, the Northern Water Tribe. Ba Sing Se itself should either be defeated as the final blow or brought low by some other means rather than an outright siege. 

Minister Quyin’s suggestion to have Zhao lead an assault against the Walls of Ba Sing Se, well it’s lunacy. Zhao is responsible for two of the worst defeats our countries have shared in the last ten years. Putting him in charge makes no sense. Maybe it’s Fire Nation politics, but I think you’d be far better off, if you choose to attack having your son or General Ozai lead the attack. They’ve proven far more competent than he.” 

The monarch looked delighted at his response. “Have you played Pai Sho before?” He asked Sokka abruptly. 

Nodding while confused at the turn the conversation had taken, Sokka countered the first move of the Fire Lord. After ten moves had passed in silence, Iroh spoke. 

“I’m glad to find you’re more astute than you were leading me to believe. I’ve had much the same thought. I’ve planned on retreating our forces away from Ba Sing Se, forming a defensive perimeter along the Valu River. Your father’s fleet could be repurposed then and sent north. If Warchief Hakoda agrees, our next combined assault should come against the Northern Water Tribe rather than beating our heads senselessly against the Walls of Ba Sing Se. It will take a few months to move the necessary troops around, but I think you’re quite right about Zhao not being in charge. I’ll have Ozai lead our forces. He’s almost finished suppressing the rebellion in Omashu and will be more than capable. It’s some time away, but your father gave me the discretion to send you to any of the warfronts when the time came. Would you be interested in seeing our…your plan through Prince Sokka?” 

Sokka fumbled his move, accidentally placing the winter wolf directly in harm's way. Iroh responded quickly by jumping the piece with the rabid rhino. “You do me a great honor, Your Majesty.” He said. 

Iroh waved a hand carelessly. “Please, I’m placing you in the greatest danger. My only hope, my dream is that we can end this war decisively so no more lives are lost. It’s gone on far too long already. I’m weary of it Prince Sokka. We didn’t start this conflict, but we must see it through to the bitter end.”

The old man did seem weary, until he gave an excited “OH-HO” and captured the last of Sokka’s pieces with a deft maneuver that the Prince had not anticipated. 

“You’re quite good at this for someone so young, one day you may even be a master. I’m glad of this. When Ozai told me that he had promised Princess Azula’s hand to the son of Hakoda, I was skeptical, never having met you or your father at the time. Hakoda was young then and only a Prince as you are now, your Grandfather still lived before the betrayal at Yu Dao, bless his soul, but Ozai was insistent. I’m grateful for it now. I dare say in time you will find just how lucky the two of you are to have such a fantastic life long companion.” Iroh began collecting the pieces from the board and placing them back in their starting location. 

Sokka grimaced at the last words and Iroh looked at him with confusion on his face. “If only, the Princess could think the same, Your Majesty.” At this comment, Iroh chuckled softly. 

“Yes, I’m well aware of her demeanor and actions towards you. Lady Ursa has more than once complained to me about how her daughter’s been treating you over the years.”

“Respectfully, Sir. I don’t know if she will ever look at me as an equal. I’m not a bender and she’s made it clear her feelings on the matter more than once I reckon.” Sokka said, dejectedly. 

The Fire Lord stared at him intently and Sokka couldn’t break from his gaze. “Azula… is complicated. She has inherited more than a handful of the worst traits of her father. Vain, prideful, arrogant. The perfect picture of a Fire Nation royal.” Iroh said with a self-deprecating laugh. “In a different world she may have been a terror, but her father, praise him has reigned in not just his own worst impulses but also hers. 

She is talented and driven, that much there can be no denying, but she values something much more than bending prowess, young Prince.” Sokka looked at the elder man skeptically. 

“She holds intelligence in the highest esteem. The Princess is one of the most capable individuals I’ve ever met, she’s a true credit to her nation in that regard. She would likely never find a bender capable of matching her, I’m not sure such a person exists, truthfully. But…” Iroh held up a single finger, cutting off Sokka’s half-hearted interjection. “Azula might just find an equal that can match her mind, sharp as it is. That will be the only way you can win her heart young Prince as I suspect you want to.”

Sokka felt heat rising to his face and mumbled his thanks. Talking about this with her Uncle, (the Fire Lord nonetheless!) felt awkward, but it was the best advice he had ever gotten in regards to the Princess. Katara was virtually no help, merely calling him a dunderhead every time he had ever broached the subject. His father was away more often than not, and his mother just offered platitudes and suggestions that might work on other girls, but were liable to see him fried to bits by Azula. Seriously. Send her flowers? Good luck to the fool who tried that.

A servant rushed into the room, exclaiming that the Fire Lord had urgent business due to an accident at a metal refinery just outside the capital. Iroh leapt to his feet, a spring in his step that belied his age. “Thank you for joining me today Prince Sokka. I look forward to your presence in my war meetings going forward.” Sokka stood and bowed low in the customary Fire Nation manner that Piandao had taught him, thinking all the while of the discussion about his betrothed. 

____________________________________________________________________________ 

From that day on, he never wavered in his convictions when called upon to speak by the Fire Lord. A number of the ministers and officers of the Fire Nation looked perturbed that a young man was given such an accounting by their monarch, but none dared raise such a complaint either privately or publicly.

Iroh continued to invite him to tea at least twice a week. Pai Sho was their primary focus, but Sokka realized early on that the lessons conveyed by the Fire Lord were about much more than the game. Time flew by, between honing his skills with the sword and the constant barrage of planning and work as the two countries prepared their invasion of the Northern Water Tribe. His father had agreed to the change in strategy, the warchief however, was splitting duties between mopping up portions of the Earth King’s fleet in Chameleon Bay as well as assisting Crown Prince Lu Ten in dealing with a resurgent assault emanating from Ba Sing Se.

Admiral Bato would command the Southern Water Tribe forces in the upcoming assault on their northern kinsmen, while Ozai freshly returned from pacifying another rebellion in the nascent Fire Nation Colonies would have the final control over the combined invasion force. Sokka was anxious to get underway soon. He had been invited by both Bato and Ozai to hoist his personal standard on both their ships. The white wolf, stitched on a dark navy blue ensign, expertly by Kya and Katara had come to symbolize Southern Water Tribe royalty and was always displayed prominently on the flagstaff of whatever ship they embarked on. Choosing begrudgingly to travel and fight from General Ozai’s ship in order to facilitate better communication between the two nations during the course of the invasion, Sokka prepared for the feast that was honoring not just his departure but that of the entire armada. 

Whether by luck or some greater stirrings of fate, Lady Ursa and Princess Azula had returned from their tour of the Fire Nation colonies and would be attending the feast tonight. The thought led to some trepidation on his part. He wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to see his betrothed again. The last time they had been together, she had at least tolerated his presence and played games with him and Zuko. Spirits that felt so long ago. 

Now, he was leaving the next day on the verge of a great war, that there was no guarantee he would return from. He worried that she wouldn’t care, maybe the Princess might even feel liberated if he didn’t come back. The thought filled him with dread. 

The evening passed far quicker than he would have liked, as if time sped up in an affront to the soldiers who would be departing to the icy waste of the North Pole facing challenges and perils unknown. The only noteworthy event other than Bato stumbling drunkenly out of the hall escorted by three men who could barely hold him aloft was the argument between his betrothed and the Fire Lord. He noticed it because, well, it was a struggle to keep his eyes off of her. She had grown impossibly beautiful over the years. His brain had failed to come up with an adequate response when they were reintroduced early on in the dinner by Lady Ursa to his great shame. 

The Princess stormed from the room, neither she nor the Fire Lord had raised their forces but the monarch had clearly dismissed her. She rushed past him heading out of the hall and taking a left hand turn before disappearing from sight. 

“Prince Sokka.” The Fire Lord beckoned him over. “I think a stroll in the royal garden might do you a world of good right now.” 

Sokka bowed low, noticing the mischievous twinkle in the Fire Lord’s eyes. He made his leave with General Ozai and Lady Ursa before leaving the hall, rushing to the gardens as quickly as he dared.

When he reached the doors leading to the courtyard, he quietly stepped through, Azula had clearly already slammed the doors ajar. She stood by the small pond and the artificial waterfall that produced such tranquil sounds. The Princess was bending artfully. Her fire no longer had just flecks of blue mixed with orange. No, now it was a bright magnificent cerulean, close enough to the doublet he wore now. The colors of the Water Tribe.

The sight was enough to take his breath away. Her body twisted and contorted as she went through her forms. The blue of her bending contrasting vividly with the crimson dress she wore. He thought that he could watch her all night long and not need any other entertainment. He stepped forward quietly but in the semi-darkness he stepped on a twig. For a moment he thought the Princess might turn and blast him with a quick strike, but instead she simply turned off her bending, and spun to face him, a harsh glare on her face. 

“Leave me alone savage. I don’t want to have to deal with you or anyone else right now.” Azula growled at him. 

“I’m sorry.” Sokka said, holding up his hands in a sign of submission. “I uhh won’t bother you. Could I just watch your bending, it’s one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen.” 

Azula looked at him inquisitively for a moment, before nodding and silently returning to working through her forms. Sokka stepped back and away, sitting himself on a wooden bench, facing her, alongside the edge of the pond. A pair of juvenile turtleducks were swimming in the pond, also observing the bending from a healthy distance. 

He watched her artfully bend for quite some time. He didn’t think he would ever tire of seeing her in action. Azula’s flames were something wholly unique, he’d seen a hundred Firebenders, even the Fire Lord himself at practice and nothing could match the sheer brilliance of her prowess. She was a natural, a prodigy, something rare and wholesome. 

The Princess finally finished with a blast that launched through the opening of the roof into the cloudless night sky, where the stars twinkled down from above in reply. She slowly turned to face him, he didn’t know whether to clap or rush forward to praise her excitedly. Instead, he slowly stood and approached her. 

“I’m surprised you managed to go that long without talking.” She said snarkily, but some of her edge had appeared to come off. 

“Well, I was treated to dinner and a show tonight. I can’t really complain.” Sokka replied.

Maybe, despite herself, the Princess laughed, a small smile on her lips. Sokka hadn’t thought it was the best joke he had ever made but just seeing her face alight was worth every moment of waiting in silence. 

She looked at him seriously and pointed towards the bench, she walked over to it and sat down before gesticulating at the far end of the bench, suggesting where she thought he should sit. Taking the very explicit hint, Sokka sat down beside her, a healthy distance between the two. 

He didn’t say anything, letting her talk about whatever she wished. “I assume you saw our little spat then tonight?” Azula asked. 

Sokka just nodded in affirmation. Deciding to omit that Iroh had sent him out here after her. 

“My Uncle.” She spat the last word. “Has decided I’m still not ready to join our men and women at the front. My brother is gone and fighting and I’m ten times the bender he is. You’ve seen me now. You know it’s true. At this point I think I could even defeat my Uncle if an Agni Kai if I had half the mind to challenge him. It’s ridiculous how he holds me back, wasting my talents.”

“I’m sure he’s just trying to protect you.” He said weakly. 

Azula shot daggers at him with her eyes. “Do I look like a sweet little Princess in need of protection, fool?” She snarled.

“No. You don’t.” He answered simply. 

Before she could respond, he continued. “My sister and an elder named Hama are the two greatest benders in our tribe. I don’t, I haven’t thought that women are incapable of protecting themselves since I was eleven and my ten year old sister kicked my ass in a spar. I think a lot of things Princess, but I’d never think you’re one who needs protection.” 

She made a soft “hmph” sound which sounded like approval as she continued to stare at the turtleducks. 

“I’d like it more if you were just a meathead, that way I could maintain my righteous anger at my father and uncle for agreeing to this match. It would make everything so much easier.” Azula said lightly. 

At this, Sokka chuckled. “I think you’ll find if you talk to Katara again anytime soon, she’d agree with you. She’s surely called me worse.” 

“Little sisters have that talent, I suppose.” Azula crowed. 

He nodded in acceptance, Azula sure did love to tease Zuko at every turn.

“I’m sorry the Fire Lord won’t allow you to participate. I think you’ll do the Fire Nation a great credit on the day you’re unleashed on the world, Princess.” She turned to face him and their eyes met at last. 

Her cheeks seemed to flush and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. She was a singular beauty, of that there was no denying. 

“Thank you.” She said softly. 

“Would you mind it very much if I wrote to you while I’m at the warfront, Princess.” He asked, a touch of nervousness in his voice. 

Her normal haughty expression had returned and a flicker of mischief spread across her face. “Truly, I’m surprised. I didn’t know that the men of the Southern Water Tribe could read, let alone write.” 

He rolled with her jab, as hope welled inside his chest. “That wasn’t particularly a no, was it Princess?” Sokka teased back. 

“Take it as you will then, Barbarian. I’m sure you’re salivating at the chance to seem cultured in front of your fellow tribesman. It won’t be long before you brag of the beautiful Princess you have waiting for you back in the Fire Nation.” Azula rolled her eyes at him but then broke into a smile that lit the gardens just as easily as her flames did. 

Sokka daringly stepped closer, until their faces were just a hair's breadth apart. “So you will be waiting for me then?” He said, his voice dropped low, in an effort to display some of his feelings. 

He was rewarded with the cheeks of the Princess flushing bright red. The royal had an indiscernible expression on her face, as she leaned in drawing the two ever closer. Her hand rose slowly, her fingernails lightly tracing the dark skin of his forearm. Sokka had to stop himself from shuddering in anticipation.

The illusion was shattered as she sharply pinched his skin. She smirked at him before raising his hand to her lips and offering a chaste kiss. “That would depend on the manner of your letters, I suppose.” Azula’s golden eyes seemed as if they were burrowing into his soul. She dropped his hand and spun away, sauntering from the room with an elegance that defied description. Savage, fool, barbarian… he would be whatever she wanted him to be. 

Agni above, he was in over his head. 

____________________________________________________________________________

_ Princess, _

_ I pray to the spirits that your days are passing smoother than mine. Nothing could have prepared me for what I’ve seen here in just a few weeks of fighting. It’s ironic how the North Pole is so similar to my own home, and yet I find it so harsh and unwelcoming. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, I guess. We’ve come here as would be conquerors, haven’t we? The elements themselves fight against us here. Our waterbenders and the men of my tribe are withstanding it well, but I worry for many of your own nation’s people.  _

_ Your father of course has withstood the rigors of the cold and the darkness, as befits a General and Prince of the Fire Nation, but many lesser firebenders have seen themselves confined to the hospital barges, searching in vain for a remedy to their failing bending. I know the Fire Lord has barred you from participating, but I for one would feel much safer if I had a firebender as talented as you by my side.  _

_ My last letter to you, I wrote of our failed assault. The seaborne invasion we originally planned was a bigger catastrophe than we ever might have predicted. I can’t stress how many soldiers of ours were saved by your father’s decisive actions. We’ve settled in now for a protracted siege. Most of the days past monotonously, but we have had to fight off three different relief efforts from the smaller Northern Water Tribe villages. If nothing else at least, it’s blessed me with the hours to write and rewrite this letter a dozen times. The Fire Nation fleet has set up a blockade, while the warriors of my tribe have encircled Agna Qel’a by land. They are completely cut off while we plan our next move.  _

_ I’ve worried I’ve enclosed too much classified information, if your father were to read this, he would likely burn off my writing hand. The days pass slowly, so far from all the things I most adore. One day I’ll take you to Kyoshi Island and the home my family has there. It’s restful and scenic, nothing like this wartorn hellscape. I hear it’s similar to Ember Island, though I’ve not had the pleasure of visiting.  _

_ The sky lights here are different even. Back home it’s mainly different shades of greens and yellows, but up here, at night the sky illuminates in the most brilliant shades of purples and blue. Some are even so blinding and pure that it reminds me of your bending, though no sight in the world can ever match that beauty, save perhaps your smile.  _

_ Faithfully yours, _

_ Prince Sokka, the Barbarian. _

_ ____________________________________________________________________________ _

_ Princess,  _

_ Our situation has somehow deteriorated to even worse than before. An entire relief fleet sent by the Earth King managed to slip by your cousin and my Father. I’m not sure how they managed to do so, but they took your father’s force in the rear. General Ozai’s ships fought them to a stand still before Admiral Bato and his armada were able to relieve us.  _

_ Bato was struck down by a projectile from one of Kuei’s catapults. It seems wrong to bury a man at sea in this far corner of the world, so distant from his beloved home. He was my father’s best friend. He taught me how to set a fishing line, and the best way to sneak up on seal-lions. Now he’ll never get to see his children or wife again. This war has already taken so much from all of us. I know now, some of the grief that your uncle spoke of. Every man lost is a burden and a blow. These men would all one day call me Warchief, and now so many of them will never have the chance to live peacefully until an old age to do so.  _

_ It makes me sick and fills me with a rage. I’ve only been here for three months and I think I’ve seen enough warfare to last a lifetime. I can still see the light leave the eyes of the first man that I killed on the very first day of our assault. I haven’t written to you about it. I didn’t talk to anyone about it, but I felt sick for three days. Hell I truly don’t even know if you read these letters or just incinerate them when my hawk arrives. I’d like to think that you do, it brings me strength and warmth, all these leagues from safety, from home, from you. _

_ After Bato’s passing, the chain of command for the Water Tribe forces isn’t clear. Commander Tarkon, has the seniority, but Captain Kornan has command of Bato’s ship and the loyalty of many of the other Captains because Tarkon usually served with my father and not with Bato’s fleet. It’s a nightmare and we can’t afford this kind of petty infighting. Bato is likely rolling over in his watery grave… These clowns will endeavour to tear apart us from the inside and all of our losses will be in vain. Your father has intimated that he thinks I need to seize control of the Water Tribe forces as is my right as Prince. He’s right in this, I’m certain. Tomorrow, I’ll transfer my standard from your Father’s ship to the Winter’s Bite. It’s time for me to take charge of this situation. As always, I strive to be worthy of the honor of being your partner. _

_ Faithfully yours,  _

_ Prince Sokka, the Fool _

_ ____________________________________________________________________________ _

_ Princess, _

_ It’s doubtful my message will reach you before the official Fire Nation dispatch will, but I still rushed to finish this missive as soon as I possibly could. Quite simply, all I can do is offer my sincerest apologies. I reached your father in time to save his life, but it’s unclear whether his bending will return to him. The ice spear launched by Warchief Arnook took him directly in the chest, piercing his lung. Thankfully the shard was small enough to not kill General Ozai instantly, and some of our finest healers were able to save his life. The wound just missed his heart, spirits be praised.  _

_ Work on the internal organs is very difficult, and I promise they did the best they could in the circumstances. He is returning now to heal in the Fire Nation and I can only hope that your people’s advanced medicines coupled with our healers will be enough to restore him fully to health.  _

_ The battle was a close thing, but we broke the outer layer of their defenses. We just await a slate of reinforcements that the Fire Lord promised he was sending to aid us in our final push. I believe I’ve concocted a plan that should end the siege of the North tonight and put a stop to all this bloodshed. Once they arrive, I’ll lead the assault and see if I can’t bring back Arnook’s amulet as a souvenir for your father. _

_ I know I’ve been training for this my whole life, yet I still feel nervous. I wouldn’t admit this to anyone other than you. In front of my troops I must be strong. With your father returning to the Fire Nation, the other commanders have acclaimed me as the leader of the joint armada. It’s a pressure beyond anything I’ve experienced. I hope I’ll prove myself as worthy of you Princess. The Fire Nation reinforcements are arriving now, so I need to greet their Captain and prepare the troops for the final assault. As always,  _

_ Faithfully Yours, _

_ Prince Sokka the Savage _

Putting the finishing touches on the letter, Sokka folded it up in a tight roll before gesturing to his animal to come over with a wave. The bird scooted from its perch in the corner of the room, taking flight for a moment before settling on the small wooden desk. “Take this to Azula, won’t ya boy?” Sokka smoothed the feathers on the back of the hawk’s head and the messenger bird gave a trill of contentment as his master placed the letter inside the tube on the hawk’s leg. 

Sokka opened the door to the deck of the ship and stepped out of the Captain’s cabin. The bird flew off sharply to the right, landing on the dock of the Fire Nation ship that was pulling alongside his own vessel and then vanishing from sight. 

The hawk returned to his vision quickly with a loud screech, settling onto his shoulder. The bird’s talons didn’t dig into his skin thanks to the thick overcoat he was sporting. Sokka turned his head to scorn his earnest animal. Had a half year of letters never reached his betrothed because his bird was functionally useless? He grimaced as the bird pecked playfully at his hair. The tube that carried his letter was open and upon further inspection, his letter had already been removed. 

“What the hell, Hawky? I let you live a life of luxury, and all I ask is that you make a few non-stop trips to deliver some correspondence. I said I’d write to her, and she didn’t try to flame broil me. My luck, I find out I picked the most incompetent bird in the entire Fire Nation to carry my mail. I’m so dead.” Sokka lamented aloud. 

“You shouldn’t berate your bird. He did exactly as you bade him.” A female voice carried across the deck of the ship and Sokka spun quickly, almost tripping over his feet as he did so, on his shoulder the bird clutched tight, cawing in protest at the rapid shift. 

His breathing hitched for a moment as he saw his betrothed standing with one hand on her waist and the other holding aloft the scroll he had just sent her. Sokka’s eyes went wide and he failed to formulate a response for what felt like an eon. The Fire Nation battleship that the Princess had disembarked from was docked next to his Water Tribe frigate. 

“How…?” Was all that he managed to formulate as she strode forward eagerly to stand in front of him. 

“What can I say, when we heard that you were in charge of the entire armada, I was worried you’d blow it. The Fire Lord also figured you could use some help. So here I am.” She gave a mock curtsy. 

“I-I’m glad you could join us.” He stammered out. 

“I’d hope so, you did say, you’d feel much safer with me by your side, didn’t you?” She smirked at him. 

An indescribable emotion filled him. Looking back on it, Sokka would say it was akin to pure joy. “You read my letters.” He uttered, happiness surely evident on his face. 

Azula responded by simply rolling her eyes at him. “Don’t we have an assault to finish planning and a city to conquer?” 

“Well yeah… but you read my letters!” Sokka felt like a kid who caught his first mantaray-fish. 

Groaning in dismay, even though Sokka saw a small smile at the corner of her mouth, Azula motioned for her Captain to join them. Sokka waved over his two primary subordinates and gestured them all to enter the planning room. They had a battle to win. 

_________________________________________________________________________

“You were here almost a year and you flailed around in the snow and ice, and I show up and we take the city in a day. For shame, dear Sokka.” Azula teased him, but he didn’t rise to the bait. 

Just hearing her say his name made him feel a special sort of way. Besides, the mission wasn’t quite over. The Palace was the last remaining bastion of resistance in Qel’a. The outer walls had come tumbling down at last, and the interior of the city fell as well. Thankfully the civilians had all retreated to inside the Palace where they huddled in the great hall. Troops secured the room and started orderly and kindly, Sokka commanded them, to prepare for the next phase. Sounds of fighting gradually died out throughout the city. 

Chief Arnook had already been subdued and captured, ironically by Bato’s eldest son. The universe sure had its share of funny coincidences. The last remaining adversaries were holed up in the Throne Room. A trio of firebenders blasted through the ornate doors, collapsing the wall inwards with the strength of their blasts. 

Twenty or so men stood between them and the throne of Ice where a beautiful white-haired young woman sat regally. His own soldiers poured into the room, outnumbering them at least five to one. From her dais, The Princess of the Northern Water Tribe looked down over them. Her soldiers retreated slowly forming a semi-circle around her at the base of the stairs. Sokka stepped forward at the head of his own troops, fiddling with the hilt of blood-stained sword in his hand. 

“Princess Yue, for pity’s sake have your men throw down their arms. Your benders are defeated. The city is taken. No one else needs to die today. We aren’t the Earth King, we don’t slaughter prisoners. If your troops surrender now, I promise on my honor as Prince of the Southern Water Tribe that no harm will come to them or you. If not…” Sokka let the threat go unsaid, better to let her fill in the details with her imagination. 

The warriors surrounding the Water Tribe Princess looked as if they were on the verge of doing as Sokka bade them, even without Yue’s command. The bright blue flames dancing dangerously on Azula’s fingertips added an extra level of menace to his unspoken ultimatum. 

Sokka wasn’t sure what came first, Yue’s order to capitulate or the warriors yielding on their own. Either way it made no difference. A slew of swordsmen rushed forward to corral the last bastion of resistance in the Northern Water Tribe. He approached the fair-haired Princess, sheathing his weapon as he did so, Azula walked alongside him. 

Bowing as he reached Yue, Sokka observed the tears in her eyes that the Princess refused to allow to fall. The Water Tribe Princess was composed and regal, refusing to appear weak even as the whole world came tumbling around her. In a different life, Sokka might have thought she was beautiful, the image of perfection. Yet, with the drums of war at her borders, Yue had stayed hidden. Guarded by soldiers who might have better used to defend their homeland against invasion at the front lines. Azula would never be sidelined or hide behind others if what she cared about was threatened. 

“What’s to be my fate? Imprisoned and shackled in the infamous Boiling Rock?” Yue spat venomously at the two royals. 

“No, Princess. We aren’t savages despite whatever you may think of us.” Sokka said softly, while Azula chuckled at his remark, earning a sharp glare from Yue. 

“We will escort you back to the Fire Nation where you will live as an honored guest in the Royal Palace. You won’t want for anything. It’s a fate far kinder than the destruction your people wrought on the Northern Air Temple, don’t you think?” Azula said snidely. 

At this pronouncement Yue’s expression softened slightly. “A prisoner of course.” Yue laughed bitterly. “And my people...?” She asked worriedly. 

“Will be treated fairly. We will not allow you to remain in such great numbers here in your city of course. We plan on spreading your citizens throughout the Northern and Southern Tribes in much smaller groups. I’ll make sure no families are broken up. You have my word Princess. A convoy of Southern Water Tribe settlers will arrive to take up residence alongside the lucky few that get to stay here in Qel’a. When the war is over… who knows, maybe we can allow you to return to your city.” Sokka tried to say as kindly as possible. 

“I won’t hold my breath. If you’ll lead me to my cell then… I grow weary of having to stare at the faces of those who defeated us .” The forlorn look returned to Yue’s face. 

“Captain!” Azula called out to a firebender behind her. “Escort the Princess to my quarters and place guards on the suite round the clock.” 

The masked warrior saluted but didn’t take Yue away, instantly. Azula raised an eyebrow as the captain nervously stuttered a question. “Err- Princess, where will you stay for the trip home?”

Azula laughed aloud and directed a sly grin in Sokka’s direction. “Why, with my betrothed of course, Captain.” 

Heat rushed to Sokka’s face at the implication. His mind whirled. As Yue was led away she snarled at them. “You two deserve each other.” 

“I couldn’t agree more.” Azula purred, placing a hand on his chest. 

He barely had time to react before she crashed her lips against his. He closed his eyes as their mouths wrestled for dominance. There was such fire in her both metaphoric and literal. He knew all at once that somehow, their families had picked the perfect counterpart for each other amongst the millions of people in the world, all those years ago. Just how lucky were they? This was never how he would have planned it, but nothing about his relationship had gone according to plan had it? Only his Princess would determine that the perfect time to share their first kiss would be in the aftermath of a great military victory.

Sokka felt the heat of her body as she pressed herself close against him. Azula filled his every sense, the thought of her was intoxicating. Having her with him was all that he had ever dreamed it could be. He tried to convey all of his feelings in the space of a single kiss. Sadly, he found it was impossible to express everything he felt, in such a short time, even if the kiss did stretch far longer than perhaps was appropriate. He did his best with it, though. 

When they at last broke apart, Sokka gave a dissatisfied groan. Azula brought her hand to his face, wiping his lips, and removing the lipstick she had left there. He smiled at her, hoping that the look of longing was not missed by the Princess. 

“Pity, I liked it when everyone could see I was yours” He said in a low voice. 

“Oh, they’ll know. They’ll all know. This city has some of our people’s most sacred temples does it not?” When Sokka nodded, puzzled at the question, she continued. “In that case, I figured we would need both a Water Tribe and Fire Nation wedding for both of our cultures. I see no reason we don’t complete the first one here before we leave. That way no one can be upset or believe that you’ve besmirched my virtue… What do you say dear… husband.” 

Sokka gulped, realizing the enormity of what she was proposing. “Our families are going to kill us, you know?” 

“Tsk, they’ll have to do it after thanking us for conquering a nation that’s withstood a hundred years of war. I think we’ve earned it. And besides,” Azula leaned in close, whispering in his ear. “I’m going to ravish you, one way or another tonight. We might as well make it legal.” Sokka fought off a shudder. 

“I think I’ve figured the perfect wedding gift for you then, Wife.” As they stepped out of the room hand in hand into the bright sunlight of the Arctic summer. 

“Oh, do tell.” 

“I’m planning on taking you on our honeymoon to stay in the Earth King’s palace in Ba Sing Se after we conquer it. I figure that’s a gift worthy of my Princess.” Sokka didn’t have to imagine that he saw Azula quiver in excitement. 

“That’s my barbarian.” She said, with a gorgeous smile stretching from ear to ear. 


	4. Sokkla Saturdays- Denial

“Fire Lord! You can’t mean to choose this savage and his ideas over my own. He doesn’t have the best interests of our people at heart. You know this to be true.” The Minister of the Interior, a middle-aged man named Raoza screeched across the conference table. 

The Fire Lord eyed him appraisingly as if considering the words of his subordinate carefully. Sokka had been attacked and berated by so many of Zuko’s other councillors and cabinet members that he had become much better at not jumping off the handle at comments such as those. Not that they didn’t make him exceptionally angry, he just had gotten better at ignoring or disregarding them. Inwardly, Sokka shuddered. He was a  _ responsible adult _ now. Granted, Katara still called him a dunderhead whenever she came to visit him in the Fire Nation. That had somehow only gotten worse since…

“Minister, the only person whose loyalty I question here is yours. Your proposals have constantly been poorly thought out and your suggestion for how to deal with grain shortage in Shu Jing was legitimately one of the worst ideas I’ve ever heard and I’ve listened to this fool's attempt to name things. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to undercut sweet Zuzu’s reign before he reaches his tenth anniversary.” Princess Azula said sweetly and sarcastically, a dangerous tone for any that knew her well. 

Before that, the Princess had been observing the meeting with a bored disinterested look from the right hand of Zuko. She took the opportunity to leap into the disagreement shooting a proverbial barb at Raoza, with whom she had never gotten along with well. Of course, Sokka thought wryly, Azula had never gotten along well with most people. 

Raoza was fuming at the insinuation. The minister began to loudly protest but Zuko silenced him with a wave of his hand. “I’ve had enough of this Raoza. Sokka’s loyalty and devotion is unmatched and unquestioned and soon he will be a part of the royal family proper. You can either accept this fact or go back to raising goat-cows outside Fire Fountain City. Now, what will it be?” Zuko finished his question, his voice becoming dangerously quiet. 

Raoza, for his part, stuttered out a half-hearted apology before fleeing the room as Zuko dismissed the meeting. A number of the other ministers eyed Sokka warily as well as they left the hall. It wasn’t anything new, or beyond the pale, but Sokka often wondered what he had done apart from being a Water Tribesman to cause such disdain from the men and women he worked with every day. 

Azula and Zuko were discussing something quietly, that he couldn’t overheard as he lazed back in his chair. They were the last three people in the room apart from the two Kyoshi Warriors at the doorway. As he observed his fiancee, Sokka had a bold moment of clarity. Perhaps so many of the ministers were cross and constantly peeved with him because they wanted to be marrying into the royal family. They were just probably bitter that the Princess would be marrying a snow savage.

He leaned further back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head with a satisfied grin. That’s right, Minister Raoza, she’ll never be yours, Sokka thought to himself contentedly. In his reverie, he almost tipped all the way over in his chair, and the wood of the seat screeched against the floor as Sokka scrambled to not spill himself unceremoniously to the ground. The Fire Lord looked over in exasperation while Azula just rolled her eyes before turning back to continue their conversation.

Sokka started to whistle as he combed over the report that lay in front of him. Zuko thankfully appeared poised to accept the proposal that he and Azula had worked on in bed that morning… amongst other activities. It was amazing what they were able to accomplish together. When they weren’t distracted of course.

Zuko and Azula looked like they were finished discussing whatever grave matter that had so consumed them and Sokka leapt from his seat. He had already read the report about nine times and knew with great certainty that a tenth reading would provide no new information to aid them. The Fire Lord nodded to him as Zuko hurried from the room, the pair of Kyoshi’s disciples flanking him on either side. 

The Princess sauntered over to him as the door slammed shut, leaving them alone in the large conference room. She closed the distance between them and before Sokka could even get a word out, Azula pressed her lips against his forcefully. He could do this all day. In fact, there had been more than a fair share of afternoons where they intimated to Zuko that they would be working, only to abscond and relax at the hot springs near the capital. Sokka having his own personal airship was quite useful for that regard.

Ruefully, Sokka separated from the woman he loved. Azula gave a small whine of protest as their mouths ceased being joined. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while, Princess. This meeting made me want to ask it right away, though…” 

She raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. “Is the reason Raoza and so many of the other ministers hate me, because they wanted to marry you and instead you’re ending up with me?” Sokka asked her. 

Azula stared at him for a moment with an unreadable expression before laughing uproariously. Sokka felt abashed. He didn’t think it was such an absurdity, and it was the most logical explanation for their behavior wasn’t it? It’s not like he had committed some other great slight against them, had he? 

“What’s so funny” He snarled between gritted teeth. 

The Princess looked at him with incredulity now. “Are you serious, Sokka? You never once thought to ask why Raoza or so many of them hate you? Maybe you just thought it was because of how annoying you are. I can understand that at least…” 

“Hey!” He exclaimed, lightly tickling Azula under her ribs. The firebender elicited a very un-princesslike giggle, before slapping his hands away. 

“No changing the subject or deflecting!” Azula scolded him. “Do you really not know why Raoza acts the way that he does?” 

Sokka just stared at her blankly before shrugging his shoulders. Azula slapped her forehead in mock vexation. “Raoza had two children. The eldest was a powerful firebender that joined the navy. He was killed during the Siege of the North if I recall correctly. His youngest also rose through the ranks of the Fire Nation joining the Army and being granted command of a brand new Airship, Sozin’s Fury, I believe it was named.” At this piece of information Sokka’s eyes bulged and a feeling of dread settled in his stomach. 

“Y-You don’t mean…” He stammered. 

Azula nodded while laughing slightly. “Oh yes, his heir and only living child was in command of Sozin’s Fury, the very day that the namesake comet came. The Airship was lost with all hands on deck… As you are surely aware, my dear.” 

Sokka covered his face in his hands. Groaning in dismay, he looked up his fiancee who was observing him with an amused expression. “This isn’t funny Azula! I killed his son. It’s no wonder he hates me. He has to sit here everyday and listen to me talk and prattle about issues in his own country after I wiped out his legacy…I can’t believe he hasn’t tried to murder me.” 

“Oh, I’m sure he thought about it. I’m frankly surprised that an attempt hasn’t been made yet. There’s so many possible suspects, you’d think that it would increase the odds that someone would try…” Azula trailed off looking pensive. 

“Wait WHAT?!” Sokka’s voice exploded at the causal information drop. “What do you mean so many suspects, who!?”

“Well you asked why so many of the other Ministers didn’t like you as well, didn’t you. I guess I can break it all down for you… I really thought you knew.” Azula laughed again and Sokka glared at her. 

“You designed the Iroh-class Airships.” She said in a tone that brooked no disagreement. 

He nodded, simply unsure of where she was going with this line of thought. “Then you’re aware of how large the crews are for those vessels surely?” Azula raised an eyebrow as he thought contemplatively. 

“I can’t say with certainty and it fluctuates depending on how many troops the airships are carrying for transport but I’d say they usually take off with between six and seven hundred men and women.” Sokka said. 

“Well the Ozai-class was slightly smaller and less efficiently designed than your newest invention.” Sokka smiled happily at the compliment even if Azula hadn’t even totally intended it. “Focus!” She said, snapping her fingers in front of him. 

“The Ozai-class had between four and five hundred soldiers on them… You can do the math. There was what? Twelve of those airships that took off on the day the comet arrived. One returned. Most of those men and women from the capital and they were important members of our military or related to the movers and shakers of our nation. It was meant to be the coup de grace and the end of the war.” Azula said flatly. 

“You’d be hard pressed to find someone in the Capital who didn’t know someone who went down on those airships that day.” Azula finished her story with an amused expression as she noticed the disbelieving look on her lover’s face. 

Denial was the first instinct that Sokka had when the Princess explained why Minister Raoza acted so constantly rude and abrasive to him. The more he thought, and the more she explained, sadly the more obvious it had become. It’s not that Sokka felt guilt at that moment. It was war, he had justified what he did a long time ago. A million citizens of the Earth Kingdom might have died that die if not for what he, Toph, and Suki did. That victory was more than enough to bear the burden of all those soldiers' deaths on his conscience. 

Yet, hearing the actual death toll stated so matter of factly by Azula, and that he never connected that so many of those in the Fire Nation might have been personally affected seemed absurd to him now in retrospect. The Princess was probably right, he had been lucky to escape an attempt on his life after being in the Fire Nation for so long. Maybe he should be thanking Ty Lee and Suki a bit more often for their services. Then again Suki still hadn’t talked to him in any conversation lasting longer than a few sentences since their break-up.

“H-How many others.” He forced out in a strangled voice. 

“Well, starting with the Minister of the Treasury, Dozu has of course hated you for a similar reason. His son was in charge of the defence of the Royal Plaza on the Day of the Black Sun. Their defences of course were overwhelmed and he brought great shame to his family by not protecting the Capital properly it was quite a scandal. The boy at least didn’t have to live through the inquiry of how they were so easily overcome by a ragtag army, he was taken out by a Water Tribesman in combat, though no one is quite sure who it was.” 

At this Sokka looked down at his hands abashedly before protesting. “Hey! There’s no guarantee that was me. There were dozens of Water Tribe Warriors that day. It could have been anyone.” He complained. 

Azula nodded her head in agreement at his point before responding. “That may be, but a certain someone planned the attack most famously and therefore gets all the credit or all the blame depending on just who you ask.” She said with a smirk. 

“Ugh…” He grunted. “Is there anyone els-” 

“Glad you asked.” Azula interrupted him with a sickly sweet, fake smile plastered on her face. “Minister Oanu’s daughter was the second in command at the Boiling Rock. She was disgraced after a couple of teenagers managed the only prison break in its history. Although that was still Mai’s fault…” Azula’s eyes narrowed dangerously. 

Sokka reached out a hand and pulled her close. “Hey.” He said softly, lifting a finger under her chin delicately. “It’s in the past, isn’t it. You’re different, we’re all different.” Sokka smiled at Azula as she took in a deep breath before exhaling exaggeratedly.

The Princess sent him a grateful look and he felt complete as they stood so close together. “You’re quite right. If only the minister’s knew you as well as I do, they might not be plotting your overthrow.” Her textbook swagger had returned as quick as it had left. 

“All of them?” Sokka asked in disbelief. 

She glared at him with mirth in her eyes. “Well, Minister Eiyumo didn’t lose any family members to you during the war, but it was a close run thing. His nephew was on Azulon’s Vengeance. He was still young at the time and so was only a lieutenant. He along with the other five hundred or so odd members of the crew were lured into the hangar before being unceremoniously dumped into the ocean. They were miles from the shore. I think they lost near half their number to exhaustion and a good deal more to the sharks... He made it back but just barely, I heard.” 

“Oh no. Oh no. OH NO!” His voice grew progressively louder. “They must think I’m some sort of monster.” Sokka started to pace around the room unable to meet his fiancee’s gaze. 

“Hmmm, well aren’t you?” Azula inquired. “A vengeful spirit of destruction, I’d say. It’s one of the things that attracted me to you at first, if you really want to know. You alone of the Avatar’s friends were willing to do whatever was necessary, damning the consequences or the fallout. It’s why I always considered you the most dangerous adversary we faced.” 

Sokka turned to face her, shooting Azula a skeptical look. “What? I’m serious. You think I was intimidated by a bald little monk who wasn’t even a teenager yet? It was very clear that you were the brains of the operation. On the Day of the Black Sun it was you and I who matched wits, even if the actual battle was between Aang and myself…” Azula looked contemplative for a moment as Sokka was looking dejected, despite her compliments. 

She strode toward him and her lover looked up from the floor, at last meeting her eye level. “That was a good day.” she said with a smile. 

He looked at her in disbelief. “For you, maybe. We barely made it out alive…” 

“Well it wasn’t all bad was it? You found out that you love shoving me up against walls didn’t you…?” Sokka’s face flushed and for just a few moments she had managed to rid him of his worries. 

“Only because I realized how much it turned you on, Princess.” He said her title in a low sultry voice that almost made her whimper in anticipation of the next time he might do so. 

“It’s amazing how quickly your mind turns to the gutter, savage. Weren’t you just upset and calling yourself a monster?” She teased. 

“Ugh, don’t remind me, I think I’m still in denial and processing everything.” Sokka lamented. 

Azula looked at him softly with a touch of concern on her face. She moved directly in front of him with a pair of dainty steps. She snaked her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp in the process, before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. 

Sokka looked at her after they separated and chuckled softly. “Come on ‘Zula. You’re never this nice without an ulterior motive. Now you’re the one trying to distract me.” 

The Princess looked at him before shrugging. “I can’t have you failing in your duties as advisor to the Fire Lord because of any self-doubts or moral haranguing. Even more importantly, I can’t have you failing in any of your other much more important and demanding duties.” At this Azula glared at him purposefully. 

Sokka felt heat rush to his face. Spirits above, she was insatiable. “I better see no decrease in your performance…” She trailed off as her left hand gently caressed and squeezed his neck. 

“I’ll be just fine. Okay?” Sokka wished he felt as confident as he tried to project. 

“Hey, wait!” Sokka exclaimed as Azula lifted an eyebrow at him questioningly. 

“Both Minister Shaoko and Ukurain have always supported me since the beginning… Everyone can’t hate me here.” Sokka said proudly. 

“Against all odds.” Azula muttered. 

“What was that sweetie?” Sokka said, despite hearing her clearly. 

The Princess gritted her teeth before laughing and ignoring him “Shaoko and Ukurain, you say? Both second sons of powerful firebenders that were rising stars in the Fire Nation. Both went down on the airships that day, leaving Shaoko and Ukurain to inherit their vast fortunes. They owe their success and wealth to you of course, dearie.” Azula finished with an exaggerated giggle that Sokka was sure she did only to annoy him. 

“Oh come on, you’re totally making that story up!” Sokka protested. 

Azula shook her head while staring at him with a scathing look. “Why would I need to do that? The truth is far more damning than any fiction I could concoct.” She replied haughtily. 

“Ugh. I can’t believe it. Do you think this is why when I go to restaurants alone, the food takes so long to get to me and the waiters never bring me refills?! I only get good service when you or Zuko are with me. It all makes so much sense. Ugh, I wonder if any of the Royal chefs hate me too. It would explain why I swear; Zuko gets better cuts of meat at dinner than me… Although that might just be because he is Fire Lord.” Sokka finished thoughtfully. 

“Really?” Azula asked an expression of disgust on her face. “It comes back to food after all of this? The casual destruction of nearly five thousand of our best and brightest, all forgotten in your quest for better komodo-rhino filets.” 

“Well uh-hhh. It wasn’t the best plan was it? Having all those ships next to each other. You literally might have only burned like the middle portion of the Earth Kingdom, and you absolutely might have charbroiled half of your colonies at the time.” Sokka finished weakly. 

“Yes, my father’s plan was terrible. If you’ll remember I wasn’t there.” Azula said angrily. 

It wasn’t her favorite day to remember even though all these years had passed. “Hey Princess,” he said softly. “I’m glad you love me despite my wiping out half of your nation’s ruling elite in a half hour.” 

Azula made a strange sound that was a mixture between a groan, a laugh, and a sigh. “I think that’s why I do love you, fool.” 

“Of course it is.” He said laughingly. “Come on let’s hurry to dinner! If we’re lucky I might be able to swap my dish with Zuko’s if you distract him. He has like no peripheral vision out of his bad eye. I’ve done it like a half dozen times in the last year.” 

This time Azula did groan, before following her intended from the room. He was almost skipping.


	5. Sokkla Saturdays- Westeros AU

Prompt 5: 

“You can’t be here.” Azula said without turning around. 

The man did the audible equivalent of a shrug as he entered the spacious tent and pulled the flap shut behind him. Azula Targaryen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea and the last living scion of the greatest dynasty in the history of Westeros, reclined on the sleeping furs. She was clad only in a pale, almost translucent white nightwear. Azula’s dark black hair, emblematic of the Targaryen’s hung loosely in a ponytail that wrapped over her shoulder. Still, the most identifying feature of hers were her bright golden eyes. They were unique throughout the world and signified that the Targaryens were once mighty and proud dragonriders, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in over a century.

“He could come here at any time, you fool.” Azula’s voice was now a whisper, but it’s harshness was unmistakable. 

“Please, the Khal hasn’t visited you once since you began showing… His loss, quite truthfully.” The man said softly, standing just a few feet behind her. 

“Sokka… this is crazy. You’re insane. We have to stop this.” Azula turned to face him, a determined expression on her face. 

Her resolve wilted as the man took her in his arms gently, mindful of her midsection and enveloped her in a warm embrace. “There’s not a night that goes by that I don’t want to spend it with you.” His nose was pressed against her forehead, and his lips caressed her brow. 

“I can’t stay away, the Old Gods know I’ve tried. You’re more powerful than them, I think.” Sokka said while pulling away to stare into her eyes, a hint of a smile playing on his features. 

“At last, you’ve realized the truth then. That your proper place in this world is worshipping your Queen and not those silly trees of your homeland.” Azula smirked at him. 

Sokka responded by simply rolling his eyes as he carefully dragged the two of them to the furs that lined the Khaleesi’s bed. The pale gown worn by Azula came tumbling off in seconds. His eyes did what Azula bade them. They worshipped every single inch of her exposed flesh. Even in the more advanced stages of her pregnancy, the Northerner thought, no, rather Sokka knew that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. 

Azula flushed under his steadfast gaze. She drew him even closer with a finger that she curled in his direction. “How did I fall in love with such a lecherous man?” She wondered aloud.

Sokka’s response was a laugh and a soft nuzzle into her neck. His mouth pressed against her porcelain skin and he was rewarded with a soft shudder of approval from Azula. “Persistence and dedication, I’d wager. And the competition wasn’t too fierce, I’d imagine.” He said with a chuckle. 

“Heh, I guess it wasn’t…” Azula’s voice trailed off, and she glanced away. 

Sokka stared at her intently, worried at what he had said to put her in such a pensive mood. 

“‘Zula?” He said inquiringly. 

“D-Do you think it’s yours?” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “I pray to the Seven, I pray to the Red God, I even pray to your savage Gods. Whatever it takes. I won’t survive if it’s not.” A strangled noise left Azula’s throat. 

“Hey, hey. It’s going to be alright. I’ll love you and the child no matter who it takes after. I’ll never stop loving you or defending you. If we have to hide this for fifty years, I’ll do it, if it allows me to stay by your side. If I have to fight a hundred Khal’s and a thousand knights I would beat them all, just to return to you, my dragon.” His voice was soft but resolute, a burning passion smouldered in his eyes.

“I-I… just wish that my brother had never sold me off like a farm animal. I wish we had found each other before the marriage in Pentos. We could have run off. You might have etched a living as a sellsword and I your dutiful wife. We may have made a world with each other, away from these constant fears of being caught. Away from the chance of our lives being forfeit if we take one wrong step.” Azula said, longing in her voice.

“I won’t let-” Sokka began.

“You can’t fight off an entire Dothraki horde, Sokka. No matter how inflated your ego might be. You’re a great swordsman, or so the Khal’s bloodriders have said, but if this baby has blue eyes on the day that he or she is born… what then? Both our heads will be taken by Zhao along with our childs’...” A weak sob wracked Azula Targeryen’s body. 

Tears formed at the corner of Sokka’s eyes. He wanted to offer a dozen platitudes and promise the woman that he loved that he would always be able to protect her, but they would be just that, platitudes. There was no world in which he could easily keep her safe, not if they stayed with the Khalsar. Azula was already far enough along in her pregnancy that she couldn’t ride very far or more particularly very fast. If they fled together, the Dothraki would hunt them down and it would all be for naught. 

Their doom approached closer and closer every evening that they spent wrapped in each other’s arms and they had no way of avoiding it. Perhaps the only way that they might escape unharmed from the situation, was if it was actually Khal Zhao’s child and not his. An outcome that he knew would destroy Azula’s life in an entirely different manner. 

“I don’t have an answer right now. I think about it every moment of every day. Maybe if we’re near a coastal town, we can commandeer a ship? Or book passage at night? I just want you to be safe. I need you to be safe.” Sokka said quietly, doing his best not to give into despair. 

The clock was ticking on their relationship and it was about to reach a fiery conclusion, one way or another. Azula smiled at him and reached an arm out, wrapping it around Sokka’s neck, pulling him close once again. They drew comfort in each other, both of them thousands of miles away from their birthplaces, finding joy in a kindred spirit. Risking it all for just one more moment together. 

_________________________________________________________________________

It was almost a week later when Sokka was able to visit the Khaleesi in her tent again. The air was saturated and humid near the lands of the Lhazar. Twice already he had tried to come to Azula at night, and twice he had been unable to maneuver around the many Dothraki who slept under the open skies, blocking his way to her tent. 

At last, the day after the Dothraki Horde had pillaged and sacked the small settlement of the goat herders, Sokka was able to make his way carefully into the tent. Azula sat on a small wooden stool. Her handmaiden, Ty Lee, a pleasure girl from Lys, was unbraiding the Khaleesi’s hair. Sokka cleared his throat and the young woman finished her task with skillful hands. Ty Lee gave him a knowing smile and a wink as she passed him, leaving the tent and the pair alone, finally. 

“I still don’t think we should have let her know.” Sokka said as he approached her. 

“Yes, well then you shouldn’t have been in my bed and under the covers as the sun rose and she came to do her morning duties.” Azula snarked back at him. 

“If I recall, it was you that forbade me from leaving your bedside, Your Grace. Something about wanting to do a specific activity for the third time that night. You were most satisfied with my handiwork that evening.” Sokka said with a smug smirk on his lips. 

“Always so full of yourself, aren’t you?” She said, turning to face him slowly. 

“I’d say normally, it’s you that’s full of me, my lady.” He said in a sensual whisper. 

Sokka’s comment was rewarded with her cheeks blushing bright red, standing in a sharp contrast to her pale skin. Azula swatted him on the arm playfully, mirth evident on her face. “If I must pretend that you’re an adequate lover to keep you in good spirits, I guess I shall.” She said laughingly. 

“I know you don’t need to pretend. Or do I need to remind you of that time under the waterfall…” 

This time her smack left a sizable red mark on his bicep. “Geez, Khaleesi. You might wake up the entire camp.” Sokka said teasingly. 

Azula had the good sense to look somewhat abashed at her action. “Psh, it wasn’t that loud. And you deserve worse anyways. Defiling a royal as you do.” She sent a haughty glare his way. 

“But the defiling is the fun part!” Sokka whined in protest. 

“Does this look fun to you?” Azula gestured pointedly at her very pregnant body. 

“Hmmm… well you weren’t complaining when-”

“Finish that thought and I’ll have you dragged behind my horse for a day.” Azula snarled.

“But-” Sokka started to protest.

“A week!” She amended her threat. 

He grumbled under his breath yet said no more on the subject. Azula waddled over to the furs lining her bed and settled into them. With an exasperated sigh she motioned for her lover to join her. Beaming from ear to ear, Sokka rushed to her side, taking care to not make any sudden movements that might disturb her. 

Azula’s three dragon eggs were in a small ornate wooden box by her bedside. She was staring at them wistfully again as Azula was wont to do when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. This time, however, she caught his eye as she traced imaginary lines over the eggs. 

“You know everyone else says these eggs are cold. Illyrio when he handled them said that. Zuko did too… but they don’t feel that way for me. They feel… warm? Almost alive.” Azula had the barest hint of a smile on her lips. 

No matter how many times he saw her smile, Sokka thought it was the most stunning sight in all the world. 

He moved close to her, inclining his head as if asking for permission. Azula gave a slight nod of approval and he reached out his hand feeling the precious eggs that truthfully looked more like valuable stones. The first two were cold as she claimed. Yet, when he reached the green egg, it felt  _ different.  _

The egg felt like it pulsed and hummed with an inexplicable energy. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel dead. It felt  _ alive _ .

“The green one. It-It is warm!” He said excitedly. 

Azula looked at him inquisitively. “You aren’t just saying that to make me feel less insane are you?” She asked

“Why would I say just the green one feels that way then?” Sokka retorted.

“I don’t know, is there a reason for anything that you do?” She smirked at him.

“Hey!” He half-heartedly protested. “You’re not, you know.” His voice took on a serious tone. 

“Hmmm?” Azula responded in confusion. 

“Insane. I don’t like it when you joke about that.” he said, a trace of worry evident on his dark features. 

“It wasn’t a joke.” Azula said quietly as turned her head to face away from him. 

“‘Zula…” Sokka murmured delicately. “Hey. You’re not them, okay? It doesn’t matter if they called Ozai, the Mad King. It doesn’t matter what Zuko tried to do to you. What they did, who they are, that was all their choices and their lives. You’re your own person. You can rise above all of your ancestors, because you’re unique, and you’re strong, and you’re the most sane person I know. The things you’ve been through? The things you’ve survived. You’re amazing Zula. I just hope you can see yourself like I see you.”

She didn’t say anything in response for some time. Sokka settled into the bed behind her, pulling her body tight against his, relishing in her warmth. He trailed a kiss slowly down her neck that culminated with a gentle caress of her exposed shoulders. Azula gave a soft hum of contentment at his actions. He grasped her hip and pulled her flush against him, grinding his lower body into hers. This time he was rewarded with a sultry moan. 

“S-Sokka!” Azula gasped as his fingers coursed through her hair. 

“Yes, my Queen?”

“You’re wearing far too many clothes right now. Remedy this.” She ordered imperiously. 

“Your wish is my command.” 

_________________________________________________________________________

They slept for a few hours. The sun was still some time away from rising. It was the hour of the wolf. Sokka awoke to find Azula laying on her back with her eyes staring. Her arms were folded neatly above her stomach. She looked small and frightened. He placed a kiss on her cheek after he crawled closer.

“Are you alrigh-” He started to ask.

“I’m worried.” Azula’s voice was soft, as if she was trying her hardest to not shatter the tranquility of the night. 

Sokka would have given anything to set her at ease. 

“What’s there to be worried about? You’re Azula Targaryen. You’ve got the blood of Sozin the Conqueror running in your veins. Your family were the greatest dragonlords the world had ever seen. You’re not the shy, browbeaten girl I met all those moons ago in Pentos. I don’t think you’ve really ever been her, if I’m being honest with you. Your brother tried his best to beat you down and repress what you truly are, but he failed. Curse his soul. You’re a dynamo Azula. There’s no one in this world I’ll ever love more. There’s not a person more worthy of deserving all the goodness that exists. You’ve been through so much and you’ve come out stronger on the other side of it all. I sometimes wonder what you can’t do, you know?” Sokka finished his speech and stared at her intently. 

The Khaleesi’s eyes were looking towards the ceiling, before she slowly tilted her head, meeting his gaze. “Thank you, Sokka. I know I try to be strong at all times. But when it’s just the two of us… well, I need this. I need you.” Sokka’s eyebrows wagged at her as she finished her comment. 

“Not like that you dolt. I mean your presence. Your skills as a lover are acceptable at best.” Azula shot a feral grin in his direction. 

“Hey! That’s emasculating you know. I’m more than capable. Errr-” Sokke complained. 

“And how would you know? Unless you lied about me being the only woman you’ve been with?” Azula riposted. 

Sokka slumped his shoulders in defeat, all but admitting the trap he had fallen in. His mood became somber and Azula for her part looked regretful and that change in his tone as he started to speak. 

“Besides,” he said ruefully. “It’s me that isn’t worthy of you. A northern bastard, with no titles or land to his name. Just a single sword given to him by his noble father, who wouldn’t even tell me who my mother is… What business do I have being with the most beautiful woman in the world? And what’s worse, if the babe is mine... I’ve given you a bastard. Now he’ll be just like me. The Bastard of Winterfell. A stain on both our honor, if I ever had any to begin with that is.” Sokka’s eyes closed and a look of despair crossed his face. 

“I’ve ruined you forever mayhaps. I don’t know why you let me. I’m so sorry, Azula. You deserve better.” 

At this Azula laughed aloud. “Better? Like how? With my Dothraki savage of a husband, who only ever visited me to rut inside me and once my body swelled he hasn’t glanced in my direction since? How many whores and innocent women has he taken since that day? Hmmm. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes in my life, you know. The only one I ever regret is not running away with you before my wedding, Sokka. We might have slipped out of Illyrio’s manse that night, the night we shared together before Zhao touched me. I should have forced you to take me away. We might be far away from here, maybe in Bravos or Volantis, hiding but showing our love freely as man and wife. That’s what I want to give you. I don’t care if you’re a bastard. You’re the most noble man I’ve ever met. You’re kind and sweet. Caring and tender, yet fierce. You saved my life from those assassins, you’ve helped shelter me from all the worst things in my life, while allowing me the space to grow and stand for myself. I know you’ll do everything you can to keep us safe. Besides fool, I know this child is yours, as sure as I’ve been of anything in my life. As sure as I am that I love you.” 

Her speech made his mind whirl. He had had the same regret, he wished that they had run away, that one moonless night before her wedding. They had been so close, but fear held them back. It wouldn’t hold them back any longer. Every time he saw Khal Zhao, each atrocity he witnessed the Horse Lord commit hardened his resolve. It would kill him to see Azula waste away her life with a barbarian who would never treat her properly like the Queen she was. He couldn’t promise the titles or the wealth or the power, but he would never stop trying to make her feel like royalty that she was. Yet, she loved him all the same. The thought imbued him with confidence and faith that the power of that feeling alone could see them through to safety, even if the whole world was against them .

“We’ll be alright then, won’t we?” He asked nervously. 

She didn’t answer except by bringing his hand to her stomach. Azula gently intertwined their fingers together, moving them in a small circular motion over her body. They sat there in silence, savoring the close contact and the feeling of belonging that they provided each other. 

Her other hand gently stroked his cheek. Sokka wished that he could bottle this moment and keep it locked and secure in his memories forever. For just a moment he dared to dream that they were the ones who were wed and promised to each other. If only they were a thousand miles away from the Great Grass Sea and the Dothraki who would chase them to the ends of Essos if Zhao discovered their relationship. 

“As long as we love each other, we’ll be alright.” She repeated, trying to make him believe it. 

“We’ll be alright.” She said once more. 

Trying to make herself believe it. 

_________________________________________________________________________

The sun beat down on the Khalasar as Khal Zhao was dying. The wound he had received in the village of the Lhazareen was festering. It wouldn’t be long now before he was unable to continue riding. There was unrest brewing amongst the Khal’s bloodriders. The entire host was on edge. 

Sokka had taken to wearing his full plate mail at all times. His wolf helm, emblematic of the Starks, the family he was never fully a part of, was displayed prominently. He was never more than a dozen feet away from Azula, who was now it seemed, ready to enter labor at any moment. The bloodriders had taken to eyeing him warily. The once good relations he had had with the warriors was all but evaporating. 

Every passing minute brought them closer to their doom. Sokka had always considered himself a good planner, filled to the brim with ingenious schemes and strategies. His brother Robb and sister Katara would always rely on him to prepare the pranks and playful endeavours they engaged at as children. Yet now, with his life on the line. With the life of the woman he loved and their possible child at risk, he had thought of nothing. No stroke of brilliance manifested itself, no magic idea to lead them to safety appeared from thin air. 

At least, Sokka thought with some satisfaction, Khal Zhao was unlikely to outlive him. The infection was coursing through the man’s body. His arrogance and pride led to a refusal to have the injury treated. Now, it would be his downfall. Undefeated on the field of combat, felled to the smallest of scratches. A certain type of irony was there that usually was found only in the tales of the minstrels or the songs of the bards. 

His only concern now was sheltering Azula against anyone who might do her harm. In the chaos of the Khal’s looming death, Sokka might be able to slip away with her. The factions in the Zhaos’s horde would be striving for dominance and that instant might be their best chance for escape. Of course, Azula’s state was definitely complicating matters. The Khaleesi could no longer ride her horse and had to be borne in a wain for the remaining duration of her pregnancy. A quick getaway was less than unlikely, it was nearing impossibility.

The Horde had stopped and made their base alongside a scenic unnamed river. Many of the Dothraki rushed to bathe and drink from it’s waters once their nomadic settlement was constructed. A feeling of unease hung dangerously over the encampment. Already it was clear that Zhao’s horde was splitting into factions. Zoqio and Pono were positioning themselves as the two most obvious successors. Like vultures in the desert circling a carcass, waiting for their target to drop at long last from exhaustion.

Azula was being helped down from the wagon by a pair of her handmaidens when she gave a yelp of pain. She stumbled but was held aloft by her companions. “Her water broke.” He heard Ty lee murmur. 

Sokka’s heartbeat quickened. He rushed forward to her side, propriety be damned. Her handmaiden Mai eyed him with a knowing smirk. Sokka had never been sure if Azula had confided in her as she had in Ty Lee but the expression on her face made it all too obvious now. Ignoring the possible consequences, Sokka scooped the woman he loved into his arms and followed Ty Lee who was rushing to the tent that was quickly being set up by the midwife and her assistants for the Khaleesi. Sokka felt like Azula was light as a feather as he carried her with ease into the tent. He placed her on the makeshift bed that they had set out, before he was shooed away by the midwife. 

Azula’s hand reached for his, and their fingers touched and their eyes locked for just the briefest second before he was ushered from the room. 

_________________________________________________________________________

He stood outside her tent for the duration. Every sound and cry uttered by Azula tore his heart in two. What he wouldn’t give to be there for her. To hold her hand, to show that she wasn’t alone in this world. Yet he was barred by the midwife, and by tradition. 

The sun had already risen and started its climb across the morning sky. The camp was a bustle of activity. The large tent in front of him housed Khal Zhao, or at least what remained of the man. The infection had ransacked the once proud and strong body of the would be conqueror. 

Sokka could observe from his position outside of Azula’s tent that there was a stirring near the Khal’s own, much grander lodgings. Standing vigil outside were the Khal’s two younger brothers. Three Dothraki approached Zhao’s brothers and gestured at them with their weapons. Zhao’s brothers were still young and not yet fully grown men. Sokka knew what was going to happen before it occurred. The battle was short and decisive, if it could even be called a battle. 

He had grown fond of the younger of Zhao’s brothers. Liano had shown none of the Khal’s brutality or lust for battle. The teenager had enjoyed riding and hunting, he even had helped Sokka fiddle and tinker with a new type of stirrup for the Dothraki to use with their horses, and now the boy had been cut down in front of him. For what? The crime of being related to a deceased monarch. For that alone could explain the boldness of those three men. Khal Zhao’s body would soon lie smouldering on his funeral pyre. 

Tenseness coursed through his body. It was possible that those men wouldn’t stop at just the late Khal’s brothers. A son of Zhao, real or imagined, would be a grave threat to any of his successor's legacy. Deep breaths, he thought to himself. Calm and composed. That’s what Hakoda Stark had taught him. That’s what he was going to be. They turned in his direction and made their way to him. Sokka recognized that one of the men was Ponqo’s brother. The man had sent his own kin to secure his uncontested rule. 

The three Dothraki squared away against him. Sokka unsheathed his sword and checked to make sure his knife on his belt was within easy reach. They circled him slowly, looks of supreme confidence on their face. Maybe on horseback they might have had a chance against him. Maybe. The one on his left rushed forward swinging his Arakh in a sweeping strike aimed at his shoulder. Sokka almost laughed at the amateurish attempt. They had clearly never faced a knight from Westeros, and why should they have? 

Spinning into the weapon’s path rather than away from the curved blade, took his opponent by surprise. The sword clanked harmlessly off his breastplate, throwing the man off balance. Sokka brought his longsword to bear with a deft one handed strike. It likely would not have made the slightest impact against a fellow Westerosi knight, but against an unarmored, half naked Dothraki screamer? There was truly never any question of the outcome. The sword cut through the man’s flesh like a hot knife through butter. 

Sokka held his sword loosely at his side while waving a metal gauntlet towards the two remaining foes in a taunting manner. An enraged enemy is liable to make more mistakes, his father had taught him. This time, the Dothraki charged him together. They were faster than he was most assuredly, they even might have had that distinction if he wasn’t wearing a full set of armor.

The adversary on his right ducked under Sokka’s probing strike with even more agility than he had deemed possible. The Dothraki tried to slip a foot behind him and trip him up with the help of his comrade who lunged at him as Sokka tried to swing his sword back around. Staying on his feet against his enemies was crucial. If they got him flat on his back, the Dohtraki were liable to sneak a knife between the creases in his protection. Sokka’s sword was in his right hand as the strike carried his weight forward. He used that momentum to tumble away from the attacker on his right. He swung his own blade catching it on the Arakh of his nemesis. Applying pressure with his left hand, he drew back a mailed gauntlet and delivered a punishing blow to the man in front of him. Crimson blood spurted from the man’s nose. The man staggered backwards but didn’t crumble from the weight of the punch. Sokka felt a sharp pang as the last of his remaining foes landed a blow in the soft spot under his armpit. 

The weapon was crudely forged. Perhaps that alone saved him. The blade dug into the castle forged steel with a resounding crack. Sokka felt the barest of a prick as the edge dug into his flesh. The man tried to pry his arakh loose but failed. The Dothraki yanked Sokka’s helmet off of him, exposing his head and neck to attack. The wolf helm forged in the halls of Winterfell went tumbling to the ground. Sokka gritted his teeth as his enemy inadvertently dug the blade deeper into his side. With a guttural scream of pain, Sokka brought his longsword to bear. The Dothraki was still struggling in vain to jar his own weapon loose. Realizing the nature of his predicament as Sokka began to bring his weapon to bear, the man tried to jump backward but was clipped by the pointed tip of Sokka’s sword across the stomach. 

The wound was no mere pinprick. Sokka’s adversary tumbled to the ground holding his stomach, desperately trying to stem the bleeding to no avail. Every step that Sokka took, sent another shiver of pain through his body. He tried to remove the Arakh with one hand but found it wouldn’t come out, wedged as it was into his armor. Each movement was painful and forced the cut open more and more. 

Sokka’s right arm hung limply by his side. Attempting to lift the limb sent a pulsing pain that racked his every nerve. The last of his foes was finally looking on him with a begrudging respect as his two comrades-in-arms lay either unmoving or grievously wounded. He had lost the element of surprise as well as the use of his more practiced swordhand. Ponqo’s brother was the last remaining adversary. The barbarian stood in front of him and grinned ferally as the Dothraki observed Sokka’s discomfort and pain. 

His enemy twirled his arakh in a semi-circle. Almost teasing that he alone of the two fighters had full use of his faculties. Well, except for the exceptionally bloody nose that Sokka had given his opponent already. Ponqo’s brother tried to make use of his superior agility by launching a darting strike towards Sokka’s injured side, where the armor had already caved. The attack wouldn’t have caused much damage if not for the previous blow that had struck him there. Because of that Sokka was forced to defend the blow. His left arm reached across his body and met the blade of his foe. His fingers protested and almost dropped his longsword as the two weapons collided and sent a reverberation shaking all up and down his arm. 

The arakh pulled back and came cleaving towards his neck with a speed that Sokka couldn’t hope to match. He tried to leap back as quickly as he could, but he felt the metal bite into his skin at the nape of his neck. The gash wasn’t deep but still stung something fierce. Sokka’s movements were slowing and he was starting to flag. He needed to end this confrontation as soon as possible if he was to have any hope of survival.

An idea came to his mind. It was dangerous and foolhardy. The perfect plan. He clutched at his injured side, giving a loud yell of pain. He let his sword slip from his grasp and Ponqo’s brother gave a guttural scream as the man charged wildly, preparing a finishing blow. Sokka’s good hand dropped to his belt, yanking the knife that hung there free. Realization dawned on the Dothraki, but it was far too late. Sokka threw the blade with all the strength he had left in him. The man tried to raise his Arakh to deflect the thrown object but it was to no avail. It took his foe in the neck, lodging itself in the man’s artery. Sokka walked forward clutching his injured side and mercifully ended the warrior’s life. 

The wounds he had from the battle weren’t great but they were sapping his strength all the same. Sokka gingerly walked back to where his sword lay in the dirt. A few of the slaves that Azula had freed had observed the fight but none had come to his assistance. Perhaps it was too much to ask of them. This wasn’t their duty, they still likely harbored grudges against all of the Dothraki and saw Azula just as an extension of them. 

By Khal Zhao’s tent, many Dothraki scurried to and fro as they were constructing an impressive funeral pyre. The new Khal would pretend to pay homage to the old even as they ripped out every possible reference to the man’s legacy. The last connection to Zhao would be… 

Near the tent a slew of Dothraki gathered. They forced their way in before Sokka could get back to stand guard. The new arrivals formed a semi-circle around Sokka. Their weapons were pointed at him menacingly. Sokka couldn’t hope to defeat them, injured as he was, all alone. He fiddled with his sword preparing himself for a hopeless charge. while four of the horsemasters entered the tent where Azula was at least earlier, deep into her labor. 

After a few minutes the former Khaleesi stumbled from the tent, a look of exhaustion on her face. She clutched her midsection as if every step caused her great pain. Beside her, Ty Lee had a small bundle in her arms. Azula’s child. Could it be...?

His sword fell from his fingers, hitting the ground with a clang, settling into the dust. His greatest fear had at last come true. He was powerless to protect her, powerless to defend those he loved. He was a failure.

Sokka stumbled in Azula’s direction and the Dothraki kept their bows trained on him, while a pair trailed him with their spears pointed dangerously near his now unarmored head. Despair rose in him and he had never felt weaker in his life. Her golden eyes met his blue and something unspoken passed between them. Somehow despite the perilous and deadly situation they were in, Azula seemed calm and collected.

She smiled at him slightly, and all thoughts of a suicidal attack against the Dothraki who endeavoured to take her away from him vanished. Did that mean…? 

They didn’t let him reach her as they led her to the pyre. A sharp spear head kept him at distance. 

“Keep her safe.” Azula called out to him, her voice never wavering. 

Sokka’s heart wrenched as he heard her voice. He noticed that Ty Lee was now holding the bundle next to him. The handmaiden from Lys presented her to him and Sokka broke down in muffled sobs as he took his first look at Azula’s daughter. Her eyes were open but she made no sound. Piercing blue eyes stared back at him. 

His eyes. His daughter. Azula’s daughter. 

Their daughter. 

Azula never turned around to look back. She walked forward to the pyre, head held high, the very picture of elegance and beauty despite the sweat and toll the pregnancy had had on her. Azula whispered something to Mai, but from the distance, Sokka couldn’t make out her words. She at last spun when she reached the top of the pyre and glared down at all the people below her. Khal Zhao’s lifeless body was stacked on the highest point of the edifice. Azula never once looked at the remains of her husband. 

“Ty Lee, why are they still doing this? Her child isn’t a boy. She’s no threat.” He heard himself say in a strangled voice. 

The woman touched her braid as tears flowed freely down her face. “Khal Jeong Jeong says that a foreigner has no business being part of Dosh Khaleen and that she should burn alongside her husband like the Khalseeis of olden days were forced.” She remarked sadly. 

Azula continued to express no emotion, a placid look was plastered across her face. The royal looked for all the world as if she was disinterested with what the Dothraki were about to do to her. Mai rushed forward a large piece of cloth in her hands and lifted it to Azula. No words were said as Azula laid whatever Mai had given her at her feet. The cloth was bundled in a tight swab and surrounded something that was rounded. Her eyes met his again and all at once he thought the world was soon to end. 

Sokka was trapped, there were no two ways about it. It was clear the Dothraki were unperturbed now that they knew for certain that the Khaleesi had birthed a daughter. There would be no challenges to their legitimacy as their might have been if Azula had had a boy. That was why they were fine with lighting the child live, why they had ignored it, never even bothering to check and see the truth, other than glancing quickly at the newborn’s gender. 

She wouldn’t want him to throw away his life in a doomed attempt to save her. Perhaps if it had been Zhao’s child. Now, knowing as she did that their hopes and dreams were actually answered, Sokka’s heart broke. Azula would want him to take their child. To raise her and keep her safe. How could she want that, how could she ask that, knowing that living a life without her would kill him just as surely as that pyre would do to her. A life where every time he looked at his daughter, he would be staring right back into the face of the woman he loved. The thought seemed impossible, and yet, what choice did he have? He couldn’t risk his daughter. Gods, he didn’t even know if she had a name. Did Azula get the chance to hold her child? Did she even have the opportunity to see her baby? The injustice of the situation made his knees weak and his stomach queasy. 

Oh how he wanted to hand the child to Ty Lee, to grab his sword from the ground and make a last stand, a bold and dashing rescue. Saving the woman he loved as he fought against a horde of Dothraki warriors. Yet this wasn’t a song. No bards would ever sing, no histories would ever be written of him. Only the sad story of Azula Targaryen, the last dragon, burned to death by the horse lords of Essos, so far from her homeland would be shared in hush tones. No one would ever know of her hidden daughter. No one would ever know of Sokka’s undying love for her. 

Sokka barely noticed as they tied Azula’s hands to the wooden post in the center of the pyre. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he felt Ty Lee’s hand resting softly on his shoulder. The young woman couldn’t stand to look as the Dothraki doused the wood of the pyre in oil. Her head buried itself in his side, and Sokka had to hold back a wince as his torso still stung from the injury. 

The flames rose slowly at first, before they rapidly clawed upwards. They soon engulfed the entire structure in bright orange.. Azula still refused to make a sound as her eyes never left his. Her head was raised proudly as if all those who deigned to judge were beneath her. She mouthed something silently at him, that Sokka couldn’t make out. His mind struggled to remember what the last words she had spoken to him were. 

This is how it ended. His whole world was tumbling down and there was nothing that Sokka could do. Be strong for his daughter? By the Old Gods, how was that possible. When everything that had ever brought him joy in this bleak, dark world was going up in fire and flames before his very eyes. 

The inferno raged unabated and Azula vanished from his sight. Sokka could take no more of it. The Khalasar began to move away. Khal Jeong Jeong looked in his direction and at the child in his arms and smiled. The man leaped onto his horse's back and grasped the reins pulling his horse away from the pyre and away from the broken remnants that stayed behind. Sokka was filled with a blinding rage. One day when his daughter was a woman grown and safe from harm, he would hunt Jeong Jeong to the ends of the earth. One day. 

The flames rose higher and higher sending a thick plume of black smoke stretching into the air. Sokka could watch no longer. To his left, Mai was supporting Ty Lee’s sorrowful moans of outrage. The babe in his arms finally stirred, crying loudly as the conflagration raged out of control. Sokka felt his knees begin to buckle and someone nearby gave a startled yell and grabbed the newborn from him. Sokka blacked out before he even hit the ground. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Sokka slept through the night. He awoke to find that someone had tended to his wounds and stopped the blood loss, which had been likely responsible for him fainting. He looked around at first panickedly to find his daughter, only to find her safely wrapped and snuggled next to Ty Lee. The woman’s eyes were still bloodshot and she sent him a sad smile. She lifted herself to her feet with his daughter in her arms. 

The camp that was set up with what remained of the Khal consisted mainly of those who had directly served Azula or who had been freed by her during the course of their travels. It was far from the funeral pyre, which stood on the other side of a large hill. Sokka knew that he shouldn’t put himself through looking at the horrific scene one more time... but he had to at least try and get some closure.

Mai looked at him with an expression of pity as he walked in that direction. The camp was quiet even though almost everyone had stirred. Sokka trudged on up the hill, fearful of what he might encounter, but knowing that he had to have proof, unassailable proof that he would never again hold his love in his arms again. Before he had crested the top of the hill, Sokka began to make out sounds unlike anything he had ever heard. They were impossible to understand and they grew nearer and nearer as he climbed the large hill slowly, careful not to reaggravate his wounds. 

Sokka had almost just reached the top when felt his heart stop. 

At first he deemed it a trick. An illusion. Was it all a dream? 

She stood atop the hill like a vision. Covered in soot and ash, naked as the day she was born. Azula Targaryen stared back at him. On her shoulders perched three beasts, and what else could have made such an otherworldly sound? They were dragons. On her right was the largest of the three with scales of onyx and crimson. The left shoulder supported two of the fantastic monsters, a cream and golden one, while the last was pure emerald. 

Sokka stumbled as he rushed forward to embrace her. His mind could scarcely believe what he saw. He still couldn’t process or understand what was happening. The dragons continued to make excited noises as they flapped their small wings and ceaselessly moved around. Sokka couldn’t figure out what to say, but Azula broke the silence as they came face to face. 

“The babe?” She asked questioningly.

Had she not seen her before she was forced from her birthing bed? 

“Ours. Safe.” was the only answer Sokka could force from his throat. 

She jumped into his arms as a beautiful smile crossed her face. The dragons hissed at the sudden movement. The emerald one leaped from Azula’s shoulder to his own and nestled on his good arm. 

They just held each other for what surely was minutes, maybe it was hours… Sokka couldn’t tell anymore. His world was full of joy and light. Everything had changed, but as long as Azula was still with him, still beside him, they would always be okay. 

“How?” he muttered, almost to himself. 

Azula heard him well enough though. “Fire can’t kill a dragon was what the Maesters always claimed. I think you ought to be glad they were right.” 

“I just can’t understand… Y-You defy every belief you know that.” He said with a chuckle. 

“I had to get back to you.” She said simply. 

Sokka could only respond by capturing her lips in a searing kiss. Now, he felt like a dragon, there was such fire in their embrace at last. Free of the spectre of death and fear. The Khalasar had vanished leaving the two of them free to be together. Free with their daughter… and with Azula’s other children. 

The emerald dragon nibbled at his ear softly and Sokka gave a low yelp of surprise. “Hey!” he whined. 

Azula laughed and the sound was like music to his ears. “Wasn’t the green egg the one that you said was warm, my love?” She asked observing him with an amused expression. 

He nodded in confusion as the dragon playfully kept trying to play with his earlobe. 

“I think that one’s yours then. The black one feels like he’s mine which means… the white one, that’s for our…?” Azula trailed off. 

“Daughter. Our daughter.” He said with a smile and a sigh of contentment. 

“Really Sokka, you haven’t named her yet?!” Azula glared at him indignantly. 

“Well, uhhh.” Sokka rubbed the back of his head and flicked the dragon on his shoulder who was now attempting to lick his eyebrow. “I figured you ought to be the one to do that?” He said hopefully. 

She looked at him with a loving expression and pressed her lips against his own. 

“Good answer.” She said grabbing his hand and walking in the direction of the camp. 

His heart had never felt more full of joy as the lyrical chords of dragon song filled the autumn air. 


	6. Sokkla Saturdays- Reuniting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reuniting after a long time

The bright summer sun shined down on Caldera City oppressively. Sokka had arrived by airship from Republic City just a half hour before. Wiping a bead of sweat from his brow, the Councilman and central authority figure for the fledgling United Republic of Nations grunted in response to the questions from the driver of his carriage. He wasn’t in quite the mood to talk to anyone much less an inquisitive cabbie. 

He had only come at Aang’s personal request. A summit of all the world leaders was taking place to resolve the territorial disputes between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Somehow it had cascaded to involve both Water Tribes as the newly revanchist Earth Kingdom was seeking to restore some of its past glory. Sokka had hoped to keep the Republic out of these debates, not wishing to anger any of his new country's powerful neighbors. Of course, perhaps he had a more selfish reason for not wanting to come to the Capital of the Fire Nation…

A reason that would explain why he hadn’t visited one of his closest friends in near enough four years. Sokka had thrown himself into his work to a level that bordered on unhealthy. Okay, scratch that. It was definitely unhealthy. Someone had to do the work though. Aang was a great man, undoubtedly a better and more wholesome person than he would ever be, but his brother-in-law couldn’t be left with the hard choices of leadership. That had unfortunately never come easy to the Avatar. It had fallen on Sokka to be the careful guiding hand and steward of the nascent democracy while Aang was the nation’s public visage and erstwhile protector. 

He had been appointed to head the Council of Five by his peers. The quasi legislative and executive body that ran Republic City and its constituent parts was a full time task for Sokka. It helped him focus and gave him purpose after.. 

Sokka was shaken from his thoughts as his carriage arrived at the front of the Royal Palace. He had to argue with a guard for a few minutes as he hadn’t visited in years. He had seen Zuko and Suki a fair bit, but it had always been in Republic City. They had a beautiful daughter named Izumi, that often made him think of what might have been, both with Suki and then with  _ her.  _

At last he was permitted entrance when the captain of the guards recognized him as the Fire Lord’s friend. Sokka raised a mock salute at the guardsmen who hadn’t allowed him to pass as he grabbed his luggage and handed it to a palace servant who greeted him at the entrance to the royal gardens. 

He was arriving a day earlier than the other dignitaries and leaders. Sokka had redesigned the airships being used by Republic City and as a result their efficiency was greatly increased. It gave him the benefit of arriving early but also it left him with quite literally nothing to do. He should have stopped into Shu Jing and seen if Piandao was at his mansion. Now he was left with only a few options, none of them enticing. Well, okay, annoying Zuko was always an enjoyable pastime. The Fire Lord was always so serious about matters of state. Sokka found something particularly humorous in the fact that he, a boy who grew up starving and struggling in the South Pole was now the leader of the second largest city in the world.

Apparently Zuko was in a meeting with his advisors and was indisposed for most of the day. Suki was out of the Palace visiting the Fire Nation orphanages that had been set up to deal with so many of the children that had been left parentless after the war. Particularly, Sokka had realized one day with some concern by his, Toph, and Suki’s actions on the day of Sozin’s Comet. It was very brave of Suki to take responsibility and try her best to improve the lives of those kids. She was every inch the gracious and kind Fire Lady that her adopted nation needed. 

Sokka decided to take a stroll through the Palace gardens to pass some time while he figured out what the heck he was going to do with the rest of his day. If only Aang was set to arrive today, they could figure out new and interesting ways to harass Zuko as he tried to be all Fire-Lordy. Nothing said successful international relations like trying to prank your gracious host. 

The gardens as always were lush and beautiful. The warm tropical climate of Caldera City led itself to the most amazing and exquisite flora. He passed a few ministers that he had met in Republic City, they greeted him with a nod before hurrying off. It appeared as if they were quite late to their meeting with Zuko. For shame. 

The tranquility of the grounds was something to aspire too. He thought ruefully that Republic City could use a large and peaceful park that could be enjoyed by all it’s residents, not just the wealthy and elite. Rounding a clump of palm trees, the great fountain in the center of the gardens came into view. Sokka’s breath hitched as he saw her for the first time in over five years. 

Her hair was longer and pulled back, her usual bangs no longer framed her face, but Sokka had to say he liked the new look just as much. Time hadn’t made her any less beautiful, making the pain all the more intense for him. She was facing somewhat away from him, observing and talking to someone he was unable to see. He crept around a tree, trying to gain a better vantage point. When Sokka at last saw who she was talking to he almost fainted. 

A young girl was waterbending in front of Azula. The child was playfully splashing water at Azula who was making a half hearted effort to dodge. He heard the sound of her laughter for the first time, and the sound remained as lyrical and intoxicating as it ever was. 

Still he couldn’t tear his eyes off of the girl. She looked like… She looked a little like Katara from his childhood. Her skin was the same skin tone as his sister… and his. Sokka wasn’t the best at estimating ages, but it all made sense. The realization hit him at once like a boulder thrown by Toph. 

Sokka tried his best to sneak closer to the pair, trying to end up behind a bush but he stepped on a branch with a loud crack. Azula turned quickly and the child approached him throwing a wave of water at him, that drenched him from head to toe. A frantic expression of fear graced Azula’s face, all but confirming Sokka’s suspicions. The girl giggled and skipped towards him with a laugh. Azula’s hand snaked out grabbing the child by the wrist who made a sad, pitiful moan at not being allowed to play with the newcomer. 

Walking slowly toward the pair, Sokka inclined his head when he reached them. “Princess.” He intoned, trying not to fall apart with the thousand emotions raging in him. 

“Councilman.” Her voice faltered for the barest moments. 

“I’m a Princess too!” The young girl said excitedly. 

“Is that right?” Sokka replied, the truth becoming clearer with every second. 

“Yeah! I’m Princess Kalia, and this is my mommy, Princess Azula.” She said happily. “I’ve never seen anyone who looks like me before. Are you a waterbender too?” 

Sokka had to fight back tears as he looked at her. Azula looked as if she wanted to attack him. “You weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow…” She scowled. 

“Yeah, me and Mommy were going on a vacation to Ember Island tonight.” Kalia proclaimed. 

So Azula was going to continue keeping it a secret, and only the fortune of him arriving a day early had brought this knowledge to his attention. “That sounds fun, Ember Island is a magical place isn’t it.” Sokka replied kindly. 

“I love the beaches and the water. I get to bend the ocean!” Kalia seemed thrilled at the prospect. 

“Kalia, go to the nursery and play with Izumi dear. I need to talk with this man.” 

The girl looked at them confused before nodding. “What’s your name mister? I’m sorry for drenching you with water, you looked like you needed it.” Kalia giggled

“S-Sokka, my name’s Sokka, Princess.” He said, a lump forming in his throat. 

“Okay Mister Sokka, have fun with mommy.” The girl skipped away out of the gardens and vanished from their sight. 

Azula eyed him with a feeling that Sokka could not quite place. She stepped directly in front of him and the words that came out of her mouth were pure acid. 

“Don’t even think about talking to her or telling anyone. I’ll burn you so bad that even your sister won’t be able to fix you.” She shoved him with both her hands causing him to stumble into the bush behind him. Azula turned and fled from the gardens not far behind her daughter. 

“Yeah, run away Azula. That’s what you’re good at.” He called after her. 

The Princess turned back and glanced at him. For a moment Sokka thought she might come back to him and they would have a joyous reunion. Then she turned back around and left the gardens, her hair billowing behind her. 

_________________________________________________________________________

He wormed the information of Azula’s quarters from a guard. Zuko really ought to work on his security. Sokka approached the door and didn’t even bother to knock, slamming the door open. Azula was sitting at a vanity mirror, combing her hair. She whirled around, her trademark blue fire dying in her hands when she saw it was him. The Princess looked at him with an inscrutable expression on her face. 

“Kalia’s mine isn’t she.” Sokka said softly as he approached her. 

It was a question that he already knew the answer for, but he wanted her to say it. He wanted her to admit it out loud. Maybe then it could finally be true. 

Azula’s eyes narrowed and her forehead scrunched as she looked up at him in anger. “No.” She snarled and Sokka’s heart felt like it dropped from his chest into his stomach for the briefest moment before Azula began speaking again. “Kalia is my daughter. I can’t have you coming here and confusing her and and… and mucking things up!” Azula’s voice was frantic now and she glanced around the room worriedly as if she wanted to be anywhere else but having this conversation. 

“Mucking things up?” Sokka exclaimed. “I didn’t even know she existed. What you did wasn’t right, Azula. It wasn’t fair to me. I know she’s mine, too even if you’ve kept her hidden.”

“What gave it away?” Azula snarked back at him. “The waterbending or the fact that she looks just like you.” She fell quiet as he didn’t answer right away.

Sokka said softly and repeated himself. “It wasn’t fair.”

Azula didn’t say anything for what felt like an interminably long time. She thought her heart would break into a thousand pieces if he said another word. Her eyes were cast at the ground, unwilling to make contact with Sokka who continued to glare at her defiantly. She blew out a deep breath before mumbling quietly, so low that Sokka almost didn’t hear her. 

“You think I don’t know that?” She almost whispered. “You think I don’t know that what I did was wrong? You wanted us to be together forever, that’s what you said. And it scared me, Sokka! I didn’t know if I was worthy of love, I barely understood it. You said you loved me, but I thought maybe it was just lust. I had no experience with any of that. I wasn’t ready for you to tell me that and you knew it! I asked for you not to rush things with me, but you did anyways and that wasn’t fair. I couldn’t love myself for spirits sake. I couldn’t understand that someone would be willing to love me, for me. I needed time to work through it all. So I ran. I ran from the confrontation and from you.” 

Azula’s voice was stronger now and she was no longer looking at the floor. She stared back at him, wondering what on earth the vacant expression on her former lover’s face meant. Did he hate her? Could he ever possibly forgive her? She hadn’t even apologized. Why would he have any reason to forgive her? She had cut him out of her life in a moment of fear. She had cut him out of Kalia’s life and that might be altogether past forgiveness.

“Then why didn’t-” Sokka said with a slight tremble in his voice. 

“Why didn’t I tell you I was pregnant?” Azula laughed bitterly. “I didn’t know when I ran away. I hopped on a ship and I didn’t find out until I had made it back to the Palace. Zuko and Suki didn’t ask any questions. They knew we had been together of course, but they didn’t pry into what had happened. I asked if I could stay in my old rooms and they allowed me the courtesy. It wasn’t till a couple months later I found out I was going to have Kalia.

At that point I was so scared and I imagined that you hated me for leaving. For not wanting to take the next step with you. I felt out of sorts with the pregnancy and every day I convinced myself that you wouldn’t love me or our child. I wrote at least fifty letters. Agni, I might have written a hundred. I wanted to let you know. But I was a coward. That’s what I was Sokka. I ran when I should have been strong… because I didn’t have you. Paradoxical isn’t it? The person that made me strong, the man who helped me conquer my fears and face down my father. That let me move past what I had done during the war. I was weak without you, but still too weak to seek you out. Then more and more days passed after Kalia was born and what was I supposed to do then? I had already failed by not telling you once I knew. 

I kept imagining your anger with me, and I grew more frightened. I thought I could handle everything, but the fear that you wouldn’t want me anymore after I left was great but not as great as the fear that you would reject Kalia because of my own failings. I never wanted her to experience that. I’d rather she believe that her father was across the world, being a great hero than deal with the truth that maybe he knew about her and rejected her because what I did hurt you so much… Hurt both of us.” 

Azula still wasn’t able to read him. His tanned face showed no emotion as his piercing blue eyes just stared at her. It felt as if he was peering into her very soul. Where he had once been an open book for her to read, now she was as lost and confused as if she was trying to read a novel in a different language. 

“You didn’t even give me a chance, Azula. I know I rushed things. I know you asked me to wait, but I loved you. It was new to me too. I had been in love before, with Suki and with Yue… but it wasn’t like that with you. It was something different, stronger, fuller of passion somehow and it was all I ever dreamed of. It was so much more than lust. I just wanted you to know, and I’m sorry for how I did that. I should have waited like you asked. Everyday of my life since then I’ve thought about what I did wrong. I know I drove you away when I should have been patient. Waiting for you would have been worth it. I know that now… I’m sorry too for not listening to you. I’ve always been a bit impulsive haven’t I?” Sokka smiled at her weakly. 

Azula’s felt her face flush and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Curse him. Her knees shook and felt weak whenever he sent that stupid, infuriating, gorgeous smile in her direction. “It was one simple thing. And you couldn’t do it. What else might you have failed to do if I asked it of you.” Azula’s response came out much stronger than she felt. 

“Simple?” Sokka laughed bitterly. “It was the farthest thing from it. I loved… no, I love you Azula. It took me everything I had not to tell you every moment of every waking day. You were what got me out of bed in the morning, what motivated me to work so hard, to build a whole damn nation worthy of you living in it.” 

“S-Sokka what do you-” Azula stammered. 

“No. I’ll have a chance to say my piece. You owe me that ‘Zula.” Her cheeks reddened again as Sokka called her by her nickname that they had only used when they were in private together. 

“I lost myself for a while when you left. I threw myself into work. And maybe the city was better off for it, but I wasn’t. Aang and Katara tried to help, they really did. Katara tried to set me up with a dozen other women…” Azula’s eyes narrowed dangerously before she woefully realized that she had no right to be envious. 

Sokka laughed at her reaction as she frowned indignantly at him. “Still my jealous Princess, aren’t you? Remember what you did to that Northern Water Tribe girl? Geez, I was worried we were going to lose the city's most valuable fishing grounds all because of your reaction when a twenty year old hit on me.

“She had it coming…” Azula protested weakly. 

He just flashed an amused smile at her and Azula’s stomach flipped over itself. This damn fool. It’s been years and the reaction is still the same after all this time. Azula wondered if Sokka knew the effect that he had on her. 

“Well anyways,  _ Princess _ . I didn’t take my sister up on her offers. If you’re so worried.” Azula just looked at him skeptically. “Okay, fine. I tried one date. It was a nightmare. She kept complimenting me and flirting with me, and being nice. We went through an entire dinner, and she didn’t insult me once. Do you know how unsettling that is after… well. Us?”

Azula rolled her eyes and tapped her long nails on her cheek. “I can only imagine how inflated your ego was getting.” 

“Exactly! Errr... I guess, I got used to your brand of snideness mixed with sweetness. Toph tried her own way of fixing me next. Work non stop until late evening, get ridiculously drunk, stumble into work and start the whole cycle over. It succeeded for a couple of weeks, until one day I just completely missed a council meeting. I can’t hold my lychee wine as well as that girl, I tell ya, I don’t know how she does it.”

Azula shook her head and motioned for him to continue, quiet uninterested in the drinking prowess of his earthbending friend. “Fine, fine.” He replied to her gesture. “None of those ways worked. Aang’s monk wisdom was bullshit then, and when you left it felt like even more bullshit. I didn’t want to embrace my inner self and come to a place of spiritual bliss and wellness or whatever the hell that means. My place of bliss was with you.” 

“Sokka-” She began

“No, I’m almost done.” He pleaded. 

“Ugh. Fine. Continue.” Azula said. 

“I threw myself into my work sans the alcohol. I traveled across the world to everywhere but the Fire Nation. I forced Kuei into acceding a slew of concessions that have helped grow Republic City. I got Chief Arnook to provide waterbenders and raw supplies to help sustain the growth of the nation, and I’ve set it up so that the people will directly choose their leader starting next year. Every person who lives in the United Republic will have the same chance to vote and pick the man or woman who leads them. An executive, but not an all powerful. Restricted and limited in many ways by the council, but still able to act in the best interests of the city. Kind of like how we elect the most competent person to lead in the south. I did everything I could to forget you. You see? I tried everything in my power to not think of you. To not throw everything down and forget what I had been working on and go find you. It was after a year I had heard you returned to the Fire Nation, although no one told me of Kalia. Maybe they didn’t know. I’m not sure.” Sokka stopped and looked at her with something that Azula looked a bit like regret in his eyes. 

“I wish I had been stronger.” He said weakly. “I know now what I should have done. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth if you’d have me Azula. I should be more upset with the secret you kept from me. I know you may not care, or even feel the same way anymore, but I said I love you, and that hasn’t changed. When you left, I felt broken. I can still go on in my life, but it won’t be a full and happy one without you. I want to be a part of Kalia’s world. I don’t want her to grow up without one of her parents, like Katara and I did. Like Zuko and you… and just as importantly. I don’t want to live in a world without you. I could establish the greatest nation in the history of the world, but it’d all be worthless if you weren’t there to live in it with me, Azula.” He stepped close to her and grabbed both her hands in his own. 

“I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Live here in the Fire Nation, live in the Earth Kingdom. Give up all my work and duties, whatever would make you and Kalia happy.” Sokka said

“And if I said that you, leaving this place, never seeing her again, is what would make me and her happiest? Azula asked inquisitively. 

Sokka dropped her hands and hung his head low. He drew in a deep breath and Azula thought her heart might break seeing him like this. “Then I’d respect your wishes, Princess. Thank you for your time.” Sokka gave a curt bow. The words came out strangled and seemed as if they physically pained him to say. 

The water tribesman turned and headed for the door, not once looking back at her. If Sokka had he would have seen the dazzling smile on Azula’s face that stretched from ear to ear. He reached for the handle, fighting back the tears that threatened to cascade down his face. 

A hand rested on his hip spinning him around before Sokka could leave the room. He barely had time to register what was happening before Azula pushed him against the closed door, pinning him against it. He could have broken free of course, she was a head shorter than him and probably less than half his weight all told. His confusion was great as her hands pinned his arms to his side. She looked at him with an almost predatory smile. 

“Now, now isn’t this familiar. A bit of a reversal though isn’t it?” Azula’s voice dripped with sensuality. 

“Azu-” Sokka had barely started to say her name before she stepped onto her tippy toes and crashed her lips against his.

_________________________________________________________________________

She rubbed her bleary eyes as the morning sun crept through the curtains of her suite. A tanned, bronze arm was draped over her stomach. The memory of the evening came rushing back all at once. Agni, how she missed this. Sokka’s head lay flat on a pillow, but his eyes were wide open. A small smile was on his features and Azula felt something stir deep inside her. They just stared at each other in a companionable silence. Azula rolled over to face him and put a hand on his bare bottom, squeezing it with a grin. 

“I guess these last few years, I have missed some things.” 

“Like the ability to grope me, whenever your heart desires, Princess?” Sokka said. 

Azula shrugged her shoulders with some difficulty from her position on the bed before nodding. “Guilty as charged.” She squeezed again. 

“Hey!” He protested, laughingly. 

His arms went to the sides of her stomach and Azula knew at once what torture lay in front of her. Her laughter filled the corners of the cavernous bedroom as Sokka commenced a relentless tickling attack aimed at her abdomen. Her legs kicked and her arms flailed as Sokka renewed his assault. 

“Stop it!” She gasped between breaths.

“Your wish is my command, Princess.” Sokka chuckled, his voice full of mirth. 

He drew his hands away, brushing the strands of hair off of her face and behind her ear. Azula almost purred in his arms. “I missed this.” She said softly. 

“I didn’t know you liked being tickled that much.” Sokka replied with a smirk. 

She punched him in the shoulder gently and he chortled in response. He grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head before leaning in and capturing her in a passionate kiss that sent sparks running through both of their bodies. They wrestled for dominance and their bodies squirmed and turned over each other while their lips never separated. Azula ended up on top, straddling his waist. They pulled apart and Azula glared down at him imperiously. 

“Got you.” She proclaimed haughtily. 

“Oh no.” Sokka said teasingly. “Trapped underneath the most beautiful woman in the world. However shall I survive this ordeal.”

A rapping at the door startled the couple from their intimate moment. Azula threw the linens and comforter on top of Sokka who responded with an oof as he was buried beneath a pile of dirty bedding. Azula opened the door ajar just barely and had a rapid conversation with who Sokka could only guess was a palace servant. 

She closed the door and walked back to the bed, her hips swaying seductively in the morning glow. Sokka’s head stuck out of the covers and he appreciatively watched her stride closer and closer to him. The water tribesman wolf whistled at her, clad as she was only in a short robe that came barely to the top of her thighs. 

“Spirits, I’m the luckiest man in the world.” 

“And don’t you forget it.” Azula grinned. 

Okay, maybe Sokka had meant for the Princess to hear that. 

“Kalia- your daughter is on the way here. Normally she stays in the bedroom adjoined to this suite, but I had her stay with her cousin last night.” Azula said.

Sokka stared at her blankly unsure of where this conversation was heading. Azula bent over searching for something on the ground. Sokka leaned forward eagerly, the view somehow got even better for him. She had grabbed his clothes that they had discarded in their lust last evening. She threw them at him, but this time Sokka was prepared. He caught the bundle with a deft hand and scooted towards the edge of the bed where he started to put on his garments. 

Across the room, Azula was picking out a new outfit for the day from her gargantuan closest. She pulled on a tunic and breeches, a casual outfit that only hinted at the beauty underneath. She turned around and found that Sokka was already clad in his councilman robes, appearing the very dignified politician that Azula knew he wasn’t. 

“Decision time, Sokka. Kalia will be here any minute. What do you want me to tell her? You have to be sure… that-that this is what you want. She can’t have an absentee father. I’d rather she have no one than deal with broken promises her whole life.” 

Azula tapped her foot impatiently waiting for a response. Sokka stretched his arms over his head and gave an exaggerated yawn. A look of frustration crossed the Princess’s face, and it looked as if she was liable to set him aflame. 

There was a knocking at the door once again but Azula didn’t turn to answer it. She looked at Sokka expectantly, demanding an answer from the man who approached her quickly. He stopped in front of her and gently dragged his fingers across her cheek.

“Azula, you amazing, silly Princess. I knew what my answer was the very first minute I arrived here and saw you with Kalia. You’re stuck with me now and forever, Firebug.”

She rolled her eyes at his infuriating nickname before engaging him in a searing kiss that stretched on for a moment too long. The nanny that Azula often used had opened the door, assuming that the Princess was likely in the restroom or otherwise indisposed. Instead she and her charge found Azula pressed against a tall foreigner in a very tender embrace. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” Kalia exclaimed as she shot away from her exasperated nanny and towards the couple. “What were you doing?” The young waterbender asked her mother, confusion etched across her young face.

_________________________________________________________________________

“I can’t believe you made us late again! What kind of example are you setting for the kids?” Katara raged from the rear of Appa’s saddle as the bison descended into the courtyard of the Fire Nation’s Royal Palace. 

“I thought Bumi and Kya would really like to learn how to ride a Unagi.” Aang said abashedly from his customary position on his traveling companion. 

“Maybe when Kya actually can walk on her own, that would be a good idea Aang!” Katara’s voice had reached a dangerous tone, one that Aang knew well enough after all their years together. 

“So Bumi was fine to try then?” Aang replied with a mischievous grin. 

“Gah!” Katara exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration before cracking a smile. 

Appa landed and gave a mighty roar that spooked some of the Palace staff who were unaccustomed to the magnificent creature. Those who had been working for the Royal Family longer were unperturbed and approached the generally docile creature to help retrieve the new arrivals luggage. 

“Daddy, can we get some fire flakes?!” Bumi was Aang and Katara’s son, but he had somehow taken after his Uncle the most when it came to matters of appetite. The head butler of the Palace overheard the question and gestured to the dining hall. “Breakfast has just started being served, Avatar. The Fire Lord and his family and guests are expecting you. I can have your personal effects brought to your suite.”

“Thank you very much, hotman.” Aang said with an exaggerated salute. 

Katara mouthed an apology to the man, as the family made their way through the opulent and grand hallways of the Palace, stopping as they reached the personal dining hall of the Fire Nation Royals. Inside they found Zuko and Suki with their daughter Izumi. Ty Lee was next to Suki chatting animatedly. The former circus performer was now in charge of the Kyoshi Warriors and the detail that protected the Fire Nation’s most important citizens. 

Zuko rose from his seated position and the two families embraced each other. Bumi and Izumi were too young to have remembered that they had met once before and looked at each other shyly, unsure of what to make of each other. Bumi finally held out a nervous hand that Izumi shook before dragging the boy to the far end of the table to show him a new toy that she had just been given, the fire flakes already forgotten. 

“Good to see you buddy.” Aang said to the Fire Lord with a smile as Katara and Suki hugged each other. Suki was being extra careful as Katara’s baby bump was quite pronounced at this stage of her pregnancy. 

“It’s been too long. I’m sorry it’s such frustrating circumstances that have brought us all here. Next time, we can all take a vacation once this whole mess with Kuei and Republic City is figured out.” Zuko rubbed his new beard contemplatively. “I uhh- forgot to mention, my sister will be joining us. She’s been living here with us at the Palace for a while. Last time you were here, I uhh didn’t mention it because she didn’t want me to.” 

Aang looked nervous for a second, perhaps more so at his wife’s reaction than any real apprehension. He got along well enough with Azula when she had been dating Sokka, even if Katara hadn’t been willing to bury the hatchet with the firebender. The master waterbender barely had a moment to grasp what Zuko had said before Kalia burst into the room just ahead of an exasperated Azula.

“Avatar Aang.” Azula bowed her head in a sign of respect. 

“Princess Azula.” The airbender responded respectfully. “Was that-” 

“My daughter Kalia, yes.” 

“Huh, well, uhhh congratulations.” Aang fell silent as he glanced at the young girl at the far end of the dining table. She was almost the same age as his own oldest son, the wheels were turning in his mind rapidly.

Azula eyed him warily, recognizing that bringing her daughter to this breakfast was likely a colossal mistake. The door to the hall opened again, providing a welcome distraction. Sokka entered wearing a low cut tunic of cerulean that Azula thought showed off his chest quite exquisitely. 

The councilman approached them with a broad smile gracing his face. He grasped Aang by the forearm before pulling the Air Nomad into a familiar embrace. “Missed ya, buddy.” Sokka said excitedly. 

“Sokka, I saw you like two weeks ago in Republic City.” Aang replied with a laugh. 

“Geez, what I can’t miss my best friend. Errr, sorry Zuko?” Sokka said sheepishly. 

The Fire Lord feigned indignation before they all started laughing and joking. Azula felt almost at peace observing the interaction. Like she almost belonged here. Sokka stood by her side facing Zuko and Aang but not too close to her. Spirits how she wanted to reach out and grab his hand and pull him close, showing the whole damn world that he was hers and she was his. Yet, they had decided to take things slow, giving Kalia time to adjust to the news that they had just informed her of this morning. They had impressed on the young girl the need for silence about the subject.

Katara and Suki made their way over to them, sitting down at the dining table and helping themselves to a generous portion of eggs and halibut. They had barely sat down when Kalia and Izumi came hurtling over, excitement evident in her daughter’s face. Azula had a true sense of foreboding as her daughter whispered softly into the ear of her niece. Bumi was only a few feet behind them and loudly protested at the secret that they were purportedly keeping from him. 

Suki scolded her daughter, telling the young firebender that it wasn’t fair to exclude Bumi from the girls shenanigans. 

“But Mom!” Izumi protested. “Kalia told me I can’t tell anyone.” 

Azula groaned and looked over to Sokka who had buried his face in his hands. Agni above, the girl was just like her father. 

“Maybe it’s best if we let them keep their secrets.” Sokka said in a strangled voice. 

The two young children giggled and looked at the nonbender conspiratorially. Bumi gave a loud whine and pulled on Izumi’s hair. Katara tried to get out of her chair to berate her eldest, but Aang was much quicker. Izumi gave a loud yell and started to cry as Aang picked up his son and began to scold him in a soft and chiding manner that only the pacifist could manage. 

Izumi sniffled back tears as her mother gently rubbed her hair. Katara stood up and approached the heir to the Fire Nation. “I’m sorry about what Bumi did. He’s not used to playing with children his age. It won’t happen again.” Katara said, while gently brushing the girls long black hair out of her eyes. 

“Why it’s a big deal anyways? Now Kalia has a Daddy like everyone else.” Izumi said between sobs. 

Azula wished as if she could evaporate and disappear to the spirit world. Obviously she knew the risks when she and Sokka had disclosed their secret to a five year old, of course they had expected it to last longer than thirty minutes. Azula was fantastic at keeping secrets. Intrigue and deception came second nature to her even as a child tormenting Zuzu. Any of Kalia’s failure in this regard clearly came from the oaf next to her holding a spiced komodo chicken strip. 

Zuko and Suki of course knew, how could they not when they had seen the child with her tanned skin and bright azure eyes only months after she had broken up with Sokka. They glanced at Sokka and her worryingly, which only helped to give away the secret more than it already had been. Aang was the last to understand as Katara stumbled back into a plush velvet chair, sitting with a sigh. Kalia giggled and rushed to Sokka jumping into his arms. 

Azula rubbed her forehead in irritation. Sokka wasn’t even bothering to hide his joy as he spun his daughter around, with a half eaten piece of Komodo Chicken in his mouth. 

“So uhhh, I take it you’ve worked things out?” Zuko said awkwardly. Behind her brother, Aang flashed her a thumbs up and a toothy grin. 

As Katara proceeded to scold the man she loved, he was playing lovingly with their daughter. Holding her safe and secure in his muscular arms. 

“Yes, Zuzu.” Azula said with a smile. 

“We’ve worked things out.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I missed a week. I was too burned from all the election coverage and stuff. Back to our regularly scheduled programming now that the world is a little bit brighter isn't it?:D


	7. Sokkla Saturdays- First Time

“I think you’re the only person at this entire party having less fun than me.” 

“Is that a surprise?” Sokka remarked, a touch of bitterness ever present in his voice. 

“I’m not sure why you would be. You dodged a catastrophe if you ask me.” Azula said to him with a humorless laugh. 

“ I didn’t ask you.” Sokka made as if to stand and walk away from the table where he nursed a glass of wine, a vintage from the Earth Kingdom he guessed. 

Not that he cared at this point. Anything to make him not think about what he just was forced to watch. Azula had just sat in the chair next to him for some unknown reason. To torment him most likely. She wore a red, nay, a crimson red dress that had drawn the appreciative stares of more than a few partygoers through the course of the night. The Princess had come a long way from the scared, broken girl that had lost everything with the fall of her father’s regime. Sokka saw her often enough in Republic City. She alternated between being an advisor to Zuko and the Fire Nation’s ambassador to the United Republic of Nations. 

They sparred and clashed frequently. Now at least their exchanges were only verbal and political rather than physical and matching wits in a struggle of military strategy. She was a zealous representative of the Fire Nation’s interests. More than once Sokka had almost pulled out his wolf tail engaging in the tit for tat arrangements that were constantly required when Azula was at the negotiating table.

Her hand reached out and caught his forearm, keeping him rooted in his seat. “What do you want?” Sokka almost growled at her. 

“Forgive me, if I don’t want to spend the night talking to my brother and his newlywed, or the Avatar and your… sister.” Azula’s voice dropped dangerously with the last word she spoke. Some grudges might never go away, no matter the time that passed. 

“Fair enough.” He said with a wry smile, offering to pour a cup of wine for her from the bottle he held in his hand.

She nodded and pushed a stray hair off her face. “I wasn’t lying you know?” Azula said out of the blue after consuming near half her glass in a single gulp. 

“Oh?” 

“I wasn’t.” She protested at Sokka’s skepticism. “She wasn’t right for you.” 

“And I suppose you’re some type of expert?” The bitterness crept back into Sokka’s voice. 

“What can I say, I’ve always been a people person.” She said haughtily with a straight face. 

He glanced at her for a moment before they both broke down into soft laughter, ignoring the blaring music that echoed across the dance floor. Zuko was spinning Suki around in the most serious of Fire Nation ceremonial dances. Spirits, she looked beautiful in her white wedding dress, Sokka ruefully thought. 

“That’s why, you can see it plain as I can, you just never wanted to admit it.” She said confidently. 

“And that is…” Sokka ground out, getting more and more annoyed at Azula and her beating around the bush. 

“You and her never would have worked. She’s far too serious for you.” Azula said sagely. 

“We did work.” He objected. “For five freaking years.” Sokka finished his glass and went to pour more before realizing that the bottle was nearing empty.

He didn’t say anything as he approached the bartender and got another. It clearly paid to bribe them before the festivities had begun. He thought about taking the bottle and retreating to his guest quarters, but something stopped him. Looking back, he saw Azula glancing across the dance floor, a bored expression on her face. Their conversation had been… well it was civil almost. With Azula that was perhaps the best he could hope for. Maybe it was the alcohol playing tricks on him, or the emotions of his that ran wild at seeing his ex-girlfriend marrying his best friend, or maybe he just didn’t want to be alone for one more damn minute. 

Either way, Sokka took his seat again next to the Princess of the Fire Nation. “Okay.” He said simply. “Explain why you think it wouldn’t have worked.” Sokka ordered her. 

A sly smile crossed her face. “Oh? You think to tell me what to do. How impertinent.” Azula taunted him. 

“It’s fine, I figured I’d manage to bribe you if nothing else. Your glass is almost empty and I’ve got the next bottle.” Sokka remarked proudly. 

“And you think that gives you power over me?” Azula played with her now empty glass, before standing and motioning over to a nearby minister. 

The Princess faked a giggle and coyly asked for the man to bring her a drink, which he set off to do in a great hurry. Azula looked at him expectantly, her arms crossed. 

“Fine.” He groaned, pouring her a glass. “You win this one.” 

“You’re remarkably quick on the uptake, savage.” 

Sokka rolled his eyes, letting the insult bounce right off him. The minister came back, holding two glasses of lychee wine in his hand. He held one out for Azula who took it with a dangerous smile. The man tried to sit down next to her, but the Princess had turned away. 

“I asked for some wine, not your presence, Minister Fuzin. Please leave my companion and I alone.” The minister of trade sputtered at being so quickly dismissed by the royal, he quickly left the table and disappeared from sight. 

Sokka sighed. “You know I have to work with him right? I probably see him more than I do Zuko.” 

Azula shrugged. “Sounds like a problem for you, not me.” 

“So, where were we…” 

“Fine, I’ll tell you, if you’ll only stop pestering me.” Azula mock sighed. “You would have never worked long term. You’re too different to have ever worked. She’s a bright enough girl, no denying, a reasonably talented warrior, even if I did defeat her and her little band of Avatar enthusiasts with no problem, mind you.” She said, smirking. 

“Uh-huh. So she’s smart and talented, and that’s why it wouldn’t work?” Sokka interrupted. 

“Let me finish, fool!” Azula snapped at him, and Sokka fell silent. “She wouldn’t ever challenge you. You’d fall into a boring routine with her. Maybe it would be fine for a while, who knows. The brain can go to great lengths to try and convince the heart that it’s happy. But, eventually you’d realize that you never were truly delighted with her as your companion… And what’s worse, you’d figure it out much too late. Probably after she popped out a few beautiful kids for you.” Sokka looked at her in disbelief. 

Azula continued on ignoring his expression. “I think she knew it well enough, even if she didn’t admit it to you. Her and Zuko are far more compatible, you should be happy for them. She’s more than willing to put up with his moodiness and worst traits. She can baby him, and dote on him to her heart's content. But you, Councilman Sokka… You want to be free. You want to leave a mark on history. You want someone challenging you at every step of the road, bringing out the greatness that lurks deep inside, hidden somewhere below your absurdly bad table manners.” She concluded with a laugh as Sokka almost spit out some of his wine. 

“So you think you’ve got me all figured out then?” He said, playing with the rim of his wine glass. 

She shrugged again. “People person.” 

“Hmmm. Fair enough. Well let’s go for it then.” Sokka said abruptly. 

“What?” Azula looked at him in confusion for the first time in their conversation.

“Please Princess, you’re good, but even you couldn’t stop yourself from undressing me a half dozen times throughout the night. Let’s see how well you can challenge me.”

The dare hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. Yet, he knew with great clarity how she would respond, before perhaps she even knew herself. Azula wasn’t the type of woman to back down, not from this, whatever it was. Their fate this evening was sealed when Sokka returned to sit beside her at the table. 

“My room. Ten minutes.” 

“Gladly.”

She stood and stormed away, to all the world it looked as if Sokka had insulted her and the Princess was having none of it. Minister Fuzin approached him and berated him for scaring her away. Sokka sat there, being lectured by the lecherous old man, with a smile on his face.

_________________________________________________________________________

He wouldn’t betray any nervousness despite his hand shaking as he reached for the doorknob. She had thrown down the gauntlet, and he would rise to the occasion. Sokka didn’t bother knocking, instead he threw the door open. The Princess reclined on her bed in a silk robe that barely reached the top of her thighs. Thankfully he was far enough away from her that she didn’t notice his breath hitching ever so slightly. 

Sokka stood a half dozen feet away from her. Leering appreciatively at her long legs that seemed to stretch on forever. She lifted one in the air, and Sokka had to stop himself from whistling in delight. “It’s bad manners to keep royalty waiting, Peasant… rectify your mistake.”

“I serve at the pleasure of the Princess.” 

“Damn right.” She purred. 

Azula beckoned him over with a slight wag of her finger. It took all of Sokka’s strength to not disrobe in an instant. Despite the lust coursing through his veins, he wasn’t going to let the firebender dictate the course of this entanglement. Ignoring her words, he walked slowly towards her, taking deliberate steps, slowly lifting off his sapphire tunic inch by inch as he drew closer and closer. He did his best to calm himself. 

She was just another woman.

Just another woman.

Just the most beautiful woman in the entire world. 

Praises to La, he was screwed. 

If Toph were here and not in the Royal Gardens drunk out of her mind, she surely would have laughed at him. His heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. How could it not? 

His tunic was thrown in a heap behind him on the floor, exposing his bare chest to her. She eyed him hungrily, taking in his appearance. He was no longer the lanky boy she fought with in the tunnels under Caldera City on the day of the eclipse. Azula sat up, her legs dangling off the edge of the bed frame. Her face was just slightly below his as he peered down at her with greedy eyes. The swell of her breast was just visible beneath the silken robe that covered her lithe body. 

“Well?” She said impatiently, a faux look of boredom crossing her face. “I’m waiti-”

Her words were cut off by his mouth. Their lips crashed together in a passionate exchange. He pressed her down onto her back, her legs still dangling off the side of the bed as he climbed onto the mattress beside her. Their mouths never came unfastened from each other. Her tongue was needy, requesting entrance to meet his own. She bit down on his lower lip. Of course she was a biter. 

Her hands wandered over his bare chest as he kneeled over her body. She felt warm all over her body. Mayhaps a perk of being a firebender? Sokka felt daring and moved a hand up and down her leg, hiking up the robe and exposing the whole limb. She gave a groan of approval as he massaged her through the fabric covering her bottom. 

Oh, how delicious that sound was. The restraint it took to not rip everything off of her and him and take her in an instant was almost overwhelming, but still Sokka fought the urge.

Now, her hands found their way to his hair, pulling it loose from the confines of his wolf’s tail. He suppressed a shiver as her fingernails scraped his scalp roughly. Maybe the Princess had it in her to be tender and gentle, but that wasn’t in the cards this evening. Azula’s kisses were desperate and needy.

She flipped him over with a growl, pressing him onto the mattress on the flat of his back. Azula climbed on top him, with a grin she stared down imperiously. How he wanted to make some smart comment, but found himself unable as she ground her pelvis against his rhythmically. All that he managed to utter was a snarl of approval. Her robe was becoming more loose as she grinded herself atop him, baring more of her cleavage. 

Sokka reached up a hand teasing the edge of the fabric before roughly running his hand over one of her mounds. Azula gave a light moan of approval as she bit her lip in the most adorable manner. Not that he would ever admit that to the firebender. Her skin felt hot to the touch as he came into contact with her exposed chest. 

“Too gentle.” Azula barked at him. “Ty Lee told me you were better than this.” 

“Is that right? Maybe she was just better at this than you are Princess…”

A look of indignation and righteous anger crossed Azula’s face and for a moment, Sokka thought she might throw him from her room or perhaps more worrisomely char a piece of his flesh. Instead she leaned down roughly capturing his lips with hers. It was as if his taunt had only encouraged her to try every trick she knew. Her breath was hot and heavy on his neck as she pulled away with a moan. Her mouth went to his neck and she kissed and sucked on the dark skin there. 

Sokka for his part, did take the Princess’s words to heart. He ripped the robe off her shoulders and bared her entire torso as well. His hands were rough and rugged from years of swordsmanship. The harsh callouses of his palms rubbed harshly against her pale and creamy skin. He gripped her hips and dragged her tighter against his loins. Then he raised his mouth to a breast, greedily taking in the left one. His tongue flicked over her nipple and he teased and tantalized her before biting down, harder than perhaps he intended. Azula manifested no complaints. A throaty moan emerged from her as she bucked her hips downard, the two separated only by two layers of fabric. The friction of their bodies moving against each other had Sokka stiffening already, yearning for release against his trousers. 

Her nipples hardened as he continued his ministrations. One being played with by his fingers, the other constantly being fondled by his tongue and teeth. Azula’s head lolled backwards as she shuddered in enjoyment. He licked the skin between her breasts slowly before engulfing her right nipple for the first time. Her hands coursed through his hair, she rode him roughly and pulled him tightly against her, yanking his chocolate covered locks with reckless abandon. It shouldn’t have turned him on as much as it did, but by now Sokka was as hard as he could possibly be from the mixture of pain and pleasure the Princess was providing. 

Azula grabbed his shoulders and pushed him flat on the bed once again. He groaned in disapproval at being unable to kiss and caress her magnificent breasts. She looked at him with a grin evident on her face. 

“Better.” She said simply. “Still too many clothes though.” 

“Then fix that, Princess.” He leered the word as she stood on the bed above him, dropping her panties in a single movement. She spun them on her finger before throwing them at his face. 

“A souvenir to remember this?” 

“You’re still talking too much.” Azula stood over him, her long legs stretching to a beautiful, shapely ass, toned by years of hard work and dedication. 

“Well I guess there’s something more useful I can do with my mouth, if you would be so kind…” 

The implication was clear enough and she rewarded him by doing just as he bade her. The scent of her was intoxicating. Azula filled all of his senses as she lowered himself atop his mouth. His tongue darted to her core with reckless abandon. He was focused intently on stimulating her in every way. His hands grasped her cheeks as his mouth worked diligently. His tongue worked its way to her clit, where he nibbled and gnawed as Azula thrashed about his face with a loud moan. 

In his whole life, he had never been more aroused or more in pain at the painfully tight confines of his unfreed erection. Now wasn’t the time for that though, his every thought had to be focused on pleasuring the beautiful creature who so willingly sat upon him lest he incur her wrath. Anything less than perfect wouldn’t do. 

Her thighs shivered and shook as he teased her most pleasurable spot. She rode his mouth as he nibbled and licked every inch of her that he could reach. 

“Oh, yes Savage. Right there… Right fucking there!” 

His thumb rubbed her clit in a circular motion as he licked her folds, his tongue never stopping it’s erstwhile quest. This constant to and fro motion threatened to push Azula over the edge. Sokka felt the tell tale signs well enough. Her body convulsed and her shouts of approval turned into needy and throaty moans of contentment as she came undone all around his mouth. 

Even after she reached her peak, Sokka continued to lap at her with all the enthusiasm he could muster. He felt slightly breathless, but he wouldn’t yield until Azula did. Still she rode his tongue and mouth, her hands supporting her somewhat limp body. This continued for another minute, and Sokka thought he might need to stop for an extended break, so diligent had been his performance. 

“In me. Now.” Azula growled, rolling off him.

She reached for his pants, rubbing his manhood for the first time. This time it was Sokka’s turn to murmur in satisfaction. The touch alone inflamed him, more than her flames ever could. She yanked the belt off him quickly, helping him push down the trousers till they pooled at his feet. His undergarments came off just as fast. 

“Ah-ah-ah, Princess. Did you say please?” He wasn’t going to let her dictate this. 

Sokka wasn’t sure why he was acting this way, maybe it was something about the challenges she spoke of, but he didn’t want to lose control. He wanted to wrest it from her, the most powerful and commanding woman he had ever met. He wanted them to be equals in this, if nothing else. 

She looked back and forth between his groin and his face, looking as if she was weighing her options. Azula crawled onto her hands and knees, kneeling with her face just centimeters from his length. 

“I don’t beg.” She said defiantly, before engulfing him in one swift motion. 

A witty retort died on his lips as she bobbed her head up and down. Her tongue worked the underside of his cock as she sucked him with reckless abandon. Even though he had performed oral on her, Sokka never for a moment dared to dream that she would so willingly return the favor. 

Yet, she was, and with such relish. Her right hand pumped away near the base of him, squeezing tight. His own hands went to the back of her head, massaging her scalp and the beautiful ebony tresses, keeping them out of her face as she licked his tip. The visual was enough to almost set him off. His moans were increasing in intensity as he came nearer to his peak. Azula surely recognized this, no more was she teasing and playing with him, now she took him as deep as she could manage. 

Her jaw stretched wide to accommodate him, her pace was frenzied and Sokka bucked upwards, forcing Azula to go deeper still. It wouldn’t be long enough. This encounter had been absurdly arousing for them both, he thought. Sokka wasn’t sure how much longer he could possibly last. Not when she was this skilled, not when every inch of his body cried out for release. 

“Azula, I’m going to burst.” He warned. 

Sokka took his hands off her head, allowing her the ability to stop, but she ignored him. Her tempo only quickened. His groans of delight only grew as she continued her lewd act. Sokka couldn’t tear his eyes away. The sight of the Princess of the Fire Nation with his cock in her mouth, it might be enough to last him the rest of his life. 

“A-Azula… I-I” 

He gave a loud shout of pure bliss as he climaxed. His legs tensed and his body tightened, and still Azula continued her treatment of him, she continued to suck around the head of his penis, swallowing every drop, before licking his sensitive tip one last time. She removed her lips from him with a plop. A satisfied smile was on her face as she licked her lips in a most sensual manner. 

“It’s good to know Ty Lee didn’t exaggerate. It really is as big as she claimed. I was so confident she was fibbing, if only to try and set me up with you…” 

Sokka had to shake the stars out of the corner of his vision. Azula sat up looking at him with an indescribable emotion etched across her face now. 

“I’m glad I didn’t disappoint then.” He said, as he sat up as well reaching for the trousers pooled at his feet.

“And just what are you doing?” Azula said, glaring at him sharply. 

“Errr, don’t you want me to leave?” He said abashedly. They had both reached completion and he ruefully thought that maybe their time together was done. 

“I said ‘in me’ or did you mishear. You’re supposed to be one of the smart ones aren’t you. You haven’t yet fulfilled your obligation.” 

For the first time in the evening, Sokka saw himself losing control of their war of wills. 

As she crawled over to him on all fours, her boobs swaying gently, a light sheen of sweat gracing her perfect body, Sokka felt his cock hardening again. Azula looked at it with a grin, enveloping his thickness with a hand, giving it a playful tug. 

“There we go.” She purred. 

She spent a half a minute rubbing and holding her length in her hands, until he stood at full attention in front of her once more. Azula leapt up, crouching over him, her hand never leaving his cock. She lowered herself until the tip was perilously close to her folds. Sokka grunted in dismay at not being able to thrust upwards, but the Princess wouldn’t allow it. 

“Now now, Barbarian. What did you say earlier? Say please…” Azula taunted him, a firm grip on his girth, not allowing him to thrust upward, bringing their two bodies together at last. 

At once, Sokka knew he was defeated for this round, at the very least. 

“Please.” He muttered, quietly. 

“What was that?” Azula had a feral grin as her fingers squeezed him ever tighter. 

“Please, Princess!” He almost whined. 

“Very good.” She released her grip, and before Sokka could even think about thrusting up to meet her, she lowered herself inch by inch on his length all the way to the hilt. Their moans were in unison then for the first time that evening. She felt warm and slick all over him. Far warmer than any other woman he had ever been with. Was this part of her being a firebender, or was it just her natural state of being. 

Either way Sokka couldn’t get enough. She bounced up and down in a steady rhythm, while his hands found a way to her breasts. He kneaded and played with her nipples squeezing them as she let a string of expletives. Azula shook her torso from side to side as she grinded down against him with a thrust of her hips. The sensation was so intense for him, Sokka thought he might lose it. There was no place he could ever rather be, she might be ruining all other women for him. 

She leaned over him, greedily suckling at his neck as he brought his mouth to her breasts. They both licked and moaned as the friction between their bodies threatened to overwhelm each other. She increased the pace again, bouncing on him with delight in her eyes as she leaned back, using her arms now to support her increased speed. 

Sokka groaned as he felt himself coming undone once again. He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t reach the conclusion before she did, it wasn’t acceptable. He bucked upwards with a thrust of his hips and Azula moaned loudly at the unexpected movement. He pushed her off him with a sigh, as they came apart, Azula gave a shout of protest. She tried to push him back down to allow her to ride him anew, but he was ready for her. 

He flipped her onto her hands and knees and commandingly grabbed her hips from behind. She scowled at him, but made no overt signs of displeasure. He thrust into her, slowly at first, setting a deliberate tempo. His hands first grasped her hips before fondling her breasts as he slowly inserted his length into her again and again. Azula moaned in contentment and the sound drove him wild. Now he bucked his hips against hers as she slammed her ass into him, meeting his thrusts with reckless abandon. 

His right hand went to her hair, grasping as much of it as he could before pulling her harshly, jerking her head backwards. Her moan at that was the loudest yet, as Sokka drilled into her ferociously, never allowing either of them to catch their breath. Azula dropped to her forearms as he continued his pounding. At last, when Azula, beneath looked as if she was coming undone, he pulled her close against him, and grabbed her by the shoulders pulling him atop him but this time she was facing away from him. 

Azula mewled appreciatively as she now set the cadence of their lovemaking. Slowly she engulfed him, lifting herself up all the way until he was virtually all the way out of him. Then she would take all of him in a swift stroke. Again and again she did this, teasing him, tempting him. 

The Princess kept it up as Sokka’s head lay flat against the bed, wondering to the spirits how he was so wildly lucky. The peasant boy from the Southern Water Tribe, here in the Fire Nation Palace, with the most beautiful Royal there was. 

He sat up, with her in his lap. He placed a string of kisses, biting down hard on her neck, making her cry out and squirm in his arms. Their bodies were tight together now, and covered in a thin sheen of sweat from head to toe. Their bodies ached and protested but they couldn’t stop their frantic dance. 

He flipped her over with a laugh as she again complained as his erection left her body. He lifted her legs and bent them back until they were almost by her head. She was shockingly limber, perhaps from all the firebending kata’s. Now Sokka was offered unfettered access to thrust downwards. 

There was no tender easing into it now, Sokka delivered punishing strokes with headlong enthusiasm. 

“Oh yes.. Oh, fuck, me you savage. Fuck me, you absolute…” Azula wasn’t able to finish her thought as Sokka thrust into her wildly. 

Her body shook and trembled even more than the first time she had came. Her pussy quivered and clenched around him, and Sokka knew that his end was also near. He fought it off as best he could, but Azula’s moans of satisfaction that turned into whimpers were enough to send him over the edge.

“Azula, I’m going to-” 

She grasped his asscheeks with both hands, pulling him even closer and deeper into her. Leaving no doubt about where she wanted him to finish. 

Sokka slowed thrusts down, as he caressed her, nibbling at her neck before capturing her lips in a sensual but tender kiss. The end was near, and Sokka wanted to savor it as best he could. With a guttural moan, he came inside her, depleting himself. Sokka continued to thrust away as her fingernails raked down his back, sending shivers down his spine. He could spend a thousand nights and one with her and never tire of what they had just done. 

They lay in her bed next to each other, neither of them saying a word, just sucking in deep breaths into their lungs. Azula rolled over, planting a trailing kiss down his chest. 

He smiled as she traced circles over his pectorals. He looked upwards at the ceiling, wondering what spirit had decided to bless him that day. 

“What are you thinking about…” Azula’s voice was soft and vulnerable. So different from her normal persona. 

Sokka looked down, her golden eyes stared at him intently. For the first time that evening, and maybe in his life, Sokka believed he saw her for who she was. He smiled lightly and chuckled. A look of confusion and hurt manifested on Azula’s face at first, but he grasped her hands in his and stared deep into her own. 

“How much, I think you’ve ruined anyone else for me.” 

“Why would you need anyone else?” Azula said, her haughty voice had returned, and a smile creeped back across her features. “When you have the best, you should want to keep it fool.” 

Sokka laughed aloud at that. “Maybe I am a fool, but I think… no I know I agree. I do want to keep whatever, uhh this is?” 

“Friends with benefits? Fuck buddies? A Princess using a Water Tribe stud for her own amusement?” 

He pressed a kiss to her neck that quickly turned into them making out again with enthusiasm. 

“I like all of those suggestions.” He said with a smirk. 

Maybe he had at last found someone to challenge him on every step of the road. 


	8. Sokkla Saturdays- I was your Wife

She had gone to bed in their luxurious penthouse on the very top of the tallest skyscraper in Republic City. The miracles and modern marvels of the Nation they had been building together never ceased to amaze her. Sometimes he would stay up a little after her, tinkering and toying with whatever whimsical invention consumed his free time. She couldn’t complain of course, she only let him do so after they had both been satisfied the proper amount of times. 

She had gone to bed in their luxurious penthouse on the very top of the tallest skyscraper in Republic City. She reached out an arm, groggily, trying to feel his bare chest and sculpted abdominal. How she loved his dark, smooth skin and how cool it felt against her warm firebending hands. Her hand hit nothing but air. Sokka often came to bed late, but he was always there when she woke up. She rose earlier than him, oftentimes with the sun. He’d pull her close, keeping her from stretching and leaving to start her day. She would giggle and cave to his demands more often than not, leading to them being quite naughty as the situation demanded. 

She had gone to bed in their luxurious penthouse on the very top of the tallest skyscraper in Republic City…

So why in the world was she in her childhood bedroom in the Fire Nation Royal Palace. 

At first she thought it was a dream, a nightmare that she would surely wake from. He would be there beside her, half asleep, but so quick to smile as she threaded her fingers through his thick chestnut colored hair. Yet, every waking moment sought to disabuse her of that notion. Azula shook and brought her knees to her chest. She shut her eyes and rocked her head back and forth in a vain effort to awaken. When she opened them to peer around anew, she still was in her old four poster bed. The former Princess gave a loud shriek as she combated with her mind. She hadn’t felt like this in years, not since the visions stopped. Not since all the therapy. Not since Sokka had been reintroduced to her life…

She took in air at a steady pace, putting herself through the breathing exercises that she had been taught. Different from the firebending kata’s she often practiced, these were meant to calm and settle her anxiety. It had been sometime since she had last used them, but they came to her soon enough. 

Azula’s breathing steadied. She glanced around the room again. It was exactly as she remembered it, but now those quarters were inhabited by her niece and the set up had changed greatly. Now there were dolls and a myriad of toys since her young niece had taken up residence in the room, far different than what it looked like when Azula was still living in the Palace. 

The massive body length mirror stood near the entrance to the bathroom connected to her suite. Azula stepped out of bed, her feet hitting the cold marble floors of the Palace. She shuddered slightly before heating herself with her bending. It was a cool morning as the light crept through the Palace windows. Azula looked at herself appraisingly in the mirror. 

She had to steady herself and start her calming exercises once again. What she saw had shocked her to her very core. She was at least a few inches shorter than her actual height. Her body was far less developed and nowhere near as mature as it had been when she went to bed. By all accounts, and Azula struggled to even think the thought, she looked as if she was a teenaged girl again. 

Azula stumbled to the wall, holding herself up with her arms. Her legs felt like jelly underneath her and threatened to yield, sending her tumbling to the floor. She was shaken from her thoughts and the panic that was building inside her by a sharp knocking at the door. She fastened the belt of her robe, pulling the silk garment tight against her body. Azula waited a moment, offering a silent prayer to whatever spirits were most assuredly not listening that the person on the other side of that door would go away and leave her alone. 

The rapping and tapping on the door did not cease and only increased in volume. She could blow out the window with her firebending and attempt to escape the room, but finding answers here and now was perhaps the smarter path of action. Azula walked to the door hesitantly, opening it just slightly and peering outside at the would-be intruder. 

It was a pair of workers, clearly Palace staff by their clothing, yet Azula was more than wary of them. The workers pushed the door open, once the former Princess had set the door slightly ajar. The workers got to work right away, changing her sheets and pulling out clothes for her from the extravagant wardrobe that had used to house all of her garments. 

This was beyond deja vu. It was so very real, and yet it made less sense than anything she had ever seen. Traveling with the Avatar and his friends had given her more than a healthy dose of belief and understanding of the powers of spirits, but this was so very different and strange, it was surely beyond the capacity of any of the spirits to affect the world and a person in such a manner, but Azula had no better answer for what had happened to her. 

The servants were working diligently and as one approached her to hand the Princess her daily outfit, Azula spoke. 

“Where is Sokka?” 

The maid looked up at the Princess for a brief moment in confusion before dropping her eyes to the floor in the proper reverential position. The other servant glanced back as well, shocked that the Princess had bothered saying anything to them, so often their mornings passed in complete silence or the Princess might order them around, but a question? That was unheard of. 

“I-I.” The maid faltered, her voice timid and weak. “I don’t know who that is, Princess.” 

Oh how she wanted to scream. There was only one thing left to be asked. The piece of information that might just explain everything. 

“Where is my brother?” Azula’s voice was firm, yet she felt as if her entire world might come tumbling down in an instant. 

“T-the banished Prince hasn’t been seen in the Fire Nation since…” 

Azula rubbed her temples in anguish. It was somehow even worse than she feared. She’d have believed it an elaborate prank by Sokka and Aang if only she hadn’t seen herself in the mirror. 

“Leave this room, now.” Azula ordered harshly. “But, return with haste bringing me the latest official news dispatch from the Royal Office of Communications. NOW!” Her voice rose with the last word and the servants hurried from the room, thankful to have avoided the vengeful young woman’s wrath. 

_ Of course I can’t remember their names. _ Azula thought to herself bitterly. She had always been such a haughty individual, deeming those whose social standing was below her to be unworthy of her time or respect. It was something that her Father had always taught her… 

She froze her body, paralyzed with dread. Her brother was banished. She was at least fifteen years younger than she last remembered. Which meant that only one man could be Fire Lord right now. Azula’s hands trembled at the thought of having to confront the man who had caused so much of the trauma in her life. 

After more than a few minutes of the servants being gone, Azula clothed herself, preparing for the day. Every inclination was pointing to the same conclusion. Each official press release of the Fire Nation had the day of publication stamped on them in small print in the upper right of the papers. She tried to remember the exact way she used to do her hair as a teenager, after a sizable number of haphazard attempts, Azula looked in the mirror in satisfaction. Not one hair out of place. 

The less nervous of the two servants reappeared in the room holding a crisp pamphlet in her hand. It seemed to be quite fresh from the presses. Azula took it from her quickly and dismissed the girl with a wave. 

Her heart seemed to skip a beat. The fear she had had was absolutely correct. Somehow, someway she was back in the middle of the accursed war. It was before she had taken a role in it assuredly, judging by her presence in the Palace, and Zuko’s noticeable absence, but it was the middle of the thrice damned Hundred Years War. 

The servant made to leave the room with a bow but first, the young woman handed Azula a scroll bearing the official seal of the Fire Lord. Azula took it warily, wondering what on earth could possess a message to be sent to her this early in the day. She ripped the parchment open and read the contents quickly, skimming until she saw the personal notice from Ozai himself. All ranking members of the Fire Nation military were summoned for an urgent war council that very morning… And Spirits, she was already running late, she had spent far too long getting ready. 

_________________________________________________________________________

“Princess Azula, so nice of you to join us.” Fire Lord Ozai sat on his throne staring down imperiously at his subjects. 

The tone of his voice made clear his disapproval for all to hear. Azula inwardly grimaced, even after all these years, being chided by the man set her on edge. She had to fight back the twin urges to run from the room with all haste as well as the slightly more powerful desire to attack her father for all the harm she had suffered.

“Now then, with your permission Princess. Shall we begin?” 

Azula nodded quickly and wordlessly, taking up a position on her father’s left hand whilst the newly promoted Admiral Zhao sat her father’s right. 

She shut her eyes for a brief moment as the Admiral began outlining his plan for the long awaited assault on the Northern Water Tribe. Azula knew how the battle would unfold. A crippling defeat for the Fire Nation, losing the majority of their Northern fleet at the hand of the ascended Avatar, the loss of Admiral Zhao and the death and rebirth of the Moon Spirit. It was after this disastrous defeat at the far side of the world that her father would dispatch her to bring Zuko and the Avatar to heel and thus began their wild chase across the Earth Kingdom that set into motion the events of the Fire Nation’s defeat. 

She didn’t have a perfect memory, as much as she might like to boast otherwise to her oaf of a life partner, who more often than not couldn’t remember where he had left the apartment keys. Yet, she did pride herself on retaining key details. It would be a fool’s errand however, to try and replicate what she had done all those years ago. Besides, knowing what she knew now, there was only one possible option. 

The war needed to end, not because of the crimes of the Fire Nation, though they were many. The conflict needed to cease because only when balance and harmony was restored would she be free to wed that silly, absurd, gorgeous man that Azula had the good fortune to call her husband. Besides, if it allowed her the opportunity to stop that ridiculous makeup wearing warrior from sinking her fangs into him at all, then who was she to complain? 

Zhao had finished his presentation and proposal for the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. It was met with universal acclaim from the gathered ministers and generals, although a pair of Admirals were clearly expressing their displeasure at not being given the task of leading the great assault, due to their seniority over the newest Admiral that the Fire Nation boasted. 

The Fire Lord nodded his assent and was preparing to dismiss the entire meeting, when Azula drew in a deep breath and steadied herself. She could only hope her interruption would go better than Zuko’s own had gone all those years ago. 

“Fire Lord, if I may make a suggestion?” Azula spoke to her father, looking him directly in the eye. 

Oh, how she wished to conjure the most magnificent blue flame and strike him down, ridding the world of him for good. That would just see her chained away and imprisoned in the Boiling Rock if not outright executed as the various factions of the Fire Nation vied for dominance in the power vacuum.

No, only the Avatar and his band of merry idiots could end this war, and it was up to Azula to join and aid them this time. Making sure that she was Sokka’s first in this brave new world, well that could only be considered a truly terrific bonus. 

Ozai glanced at her with an inscrutable expression as the room fell deathly quiet. Azula fought back the urge to run from the room before addressing the ruling elite. “Admiral Zhao’s plan has a solid fundamental basis and is likely to succeed. With your permission Father, we have discussed sending me on my first mission for the glory of the Fire Nation. I would like to join the Admiral and his fleet as an observer and the extension of your will. The Banished Prince has failed you, as he always has. I will not do so.” 

What she had done was dangerous, but her Father would likely be relactricant to chide or scold his favored heir in front of the entire delegation. By announcing publicly her desire to attend the battle, Azula was fulfilling a normal duty of the Crown Princess or Prince. Iroh led from the front as did Sozin when he was young. It would be shameful for Ozai to deny this request, especially as Azula had just reached the acceptable age, having just been proclaimed a master firebender in her own right. 

The Fire Lord eyed her skeptically for a moment before nodding his approval. “Indeed, who could be better, to aid Admiral Zhao in this great undertaking than Princess Azula, most beloved by Agni is she not?”

Each of the assembled dignitaries dared not contradict the Fire Lord. They nodded and voiced their approval most vociferously as good sycophants were wont to do. All the while Zhao’s harsh glare never once left her, a look of pure disgust smoldering in his eyes. 

_________________________________________________________________________

The trip was far too long. Spirits, how she missed airships. Since Sokka had created an even faster mechanism to propel the colossal flying craft, you could reach the Northern Water Tribe in less than twenty four hours. As it stood now the trip was taking weeks by boat. Azula did her best to pass the time by training. She quickly found that while she was in her younger body, the knowledge she had and her bending prowess of an adult still remained. She was even better than she had been as a teenager. Thanks be, and while she knew she was undoubtedly a prodigy, Azula sought to keep it a secret from all just how talented she truly was. 

Travel by airship, the thought drew her back to his dazzling smile and his cerulean eyes. The feel of his arms wrapped tight around her body as they lay on the chair on their balcony looking out across the Republic City skyline. The taste of his lips on hers. The bliss she experienced every time he nestled his face against her neck…

This was the longest she had been separated from him since they had started their relationship. Sure they traveled and had responsibilities but they had never been a month apart from each other ever. She would travel sometimes back to the Fire Nation to apprise Zuko of a myriad of problems that the United Republic was having, but she would never linger. Stopping only long enough to sit through some boring meetings and play with her niece, then she would hurry home with as much haste as she could muster. 

He would always be waiting with a grin, welcoming her with open arms. He would listen as she vented about her frustrations. He would pay attention and offer solutions to problems that exasperated her. Most importantly, he always was there for her in moments of doubt or when anxiety wracked her body leaving her nervous and unsure. In those instances, he would take her by the waist, pulling her close. Whispering sweet words of love and encouragement in her ear until the episode passed. 

She wouldn’t be separated from him any longer. 

A ringing gong announced for battle stations to be taken by sailors and soldiers alike. Azula had done her best to avoid interacting with Zhao. The man was certain that the Princess had come to steal his glory and he had intimated as such once they had embarked from the Fire Nation. Now it was unavoidable… 

They had taken on her Uncle on the way to Northern Water Tribe waters. Azula knew that meant her brother was somewhere stowed away safely, but she did nothing to try to snuff him out. Iroh was constantly on edge with Azula as if he was aware of what exactly she knew. The man never did trust her, even after the war, he remained skeptical of her, not even Sokka’s membership in his little group of merry do-gooders had been enough to mollify the man. Nothing would be, she was certain of it. For she wasn’t Zuko and that alone was damning enough in the elderly man’s eyes. 

The attack was beginning as planned. The assault on the first day met with abject failure. Perhaps a dozen warships were destroyed by the Avatar and the frontal assault against the city was countered by the talented water benders fighting in their natural element. Zhao’s plan to batter down the ice walls failed quickly. 

Azula of course had a better strategy, not that she would have disclosed it. She was hoping instead that her actions would help reduce Water Tribe casualties and lead to more Fire Nation ships being destroyed and the soldiers and sailors captured rather than killed. This would free up the Northern Water Tribe to go on the offensive, along with the Earth Kingdom, bringing about a quick and decisive conclusion to the war. 

She had pieced together all the pertinent memories of what was going to happen from the conversations she had had years ago with Katara. Sokka had explained only his own role in the battle and had focused more on his angst of losing Yue. They hadn’t even been dating, and he endearingly wanted Azula to understand why sometimes he would act far too overprotective despite Azula’s talents and capabilities. 

Katara had been the one to tell her about what had happened from her perspective, sometime later when they had been staying in the South Pole for the festival of the lights. Zuko would break in on the night of the first attack and abduct Aang. The second day would see Fire Nation successes until night time when the Water Tribe would counterattack and lead Zhao to make the brash decision that only by destroying the moon spirit could his forces subdue their enemies. Fool that he was, Zhao actually had done it. She remembered the day vividly, even all the way in the archipelago, it seemed as if the world had been drained of its color. 

Her plan was simple, she would stop her clown of a brother and his half-baked scheme tonight, earning the respect and admiration of the Northern Water Tribe and of course her beloved. Then, she would allow events to play out this time with Aang supplementing the Northern Water Tribe forces tomorrow. The Fire Nation would fail in their attacks with the Avatar present and Zhao would then attempt to destroy the moon spirit as he did. Azula simply had to let events play out from that moment onwards…

Was that right though? Could she really do that. Doom an innocent woman to give up her world and her tribe? She could stop Zhao on the second night couldn’t she, but then… She wasn’t dumb. Sokka’s first love was always her. She had been so worried about beating Suki to the man she loved that she forgot about Yue. 

Sometimes she would find him sitting alone on their balcony at night, looking at the full moon, wistfully. He never said anything about it, and Azula never pushed him, but did he ever… did he ever wonder if the Water Tribe Princess and not the one from the Fire Nation had been his destiny. 

The thought shook her, and her conscience battled itself. She loved Sokka more than anything else in her life. It was only right that she give him the choice. It was only proper that she show him what his destiny truly was. No force, no woman, no other Princess could keep them apart and Azula would prove it. She wasn’t afraid of a little competition, was she? 

_________________________________________________________________________

The first night had gone according to plan. She observed Zuko departing with relish which quickly turned to disdain. His plan was a convoluted one and truly absurd she reckoned as she swam through the underground passageways of ice cold water. She wasn’t far behind him, but kept far enough back to not lose him while remaining out of visual range. This seriously was his plan? How did he ever make it back out with the Avatar? She pulsed as she removed herself from the water, heating herself to the best of her ability while still trailing Zuko. 

She knew well enough where she was going, Sokka had brought her to the oasis on their last trip to the Northern Water Tribe. She crept through the streets doing her best to avoid the soldiers and benders preparing for the incoming attack that daybreak would herald. 

The door to the Spiritual Oasis was unguarded and open. The Water Tribe really ought to have worked on their security. If the Fire Nation had a mystical spirit that magically possessed the power to remove all of their bending, you could bet it would be under lock and key every moment of every day. Her brother had already passed through, she noticed grimly. 

“You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun.” 

Azula had to roll her eyes. Always with the dramatics, her brother. She had to stop herself from laughing aloud. Katara was knocked unconscious against a tree. Zuko had literally been gloating to no one. The absurdity of the situation was too much and she couldn’t contain her mirth. 

A chuckle escaped her lips despite herself. Zuko turned, dropping the Avatar and dropping into a defensive stance. 

“Azula!” Zuko’s eyes widened… in what was that emotion? Fear? Of course it was. 

Here she was, a girl of fourteen scaring her older brother with her mere presence. Perhaps there were some things about her past that she missed. 

“Tut-tut Zuzu. What’s your plan now? Surely Uncle would be so disappointed in you. Never thinking things through.”

“I captured the Avatar, not you. I won’t let you take my glory away. Father will know what I’ve done, I’ll return a conquering hero, and you’ll go back to being the spare.” Zuko said with a sneer.

“Oh? And what makes you think I’ll be letting you leave here?” Her voice dropped dangerously low as she taunted him, putting her sibling on edge. 

“You would never allow the Avatar to escape, capturing him is what’s best for the Fire Nation.” 

“Hmmm. That might have been true many years ago sweet Zuzu. But there is so much you don’t understand. That you never could grasp without me drawing it out for you with crayons. Now set the Avatar down and come along quietly, I wouldn’t want to hurt my dear, beloved older brother.” Azula said with a smirk. 

Her grin seemed to be what set Zuko over the edge. Twin blasts of orange emanated from his fists. Leave it up to her brother to resort to violence so quickly. Azula bent backwards allowing them to pass just narrowly over her torso and head. She fell even further onto her back, blasting a powerful attack from her feet. Zuko struggled to disperse the attack but managed with some difficulty. 

Azula almost giggled at the realization that this Zuko wasn’t anywhere near as talented as he would become later in life, in fact he was significantly weaker than when they had fought at the Boiling Rock or at the Air Temple, to say nothing of how strong he had become by the their ill-fated Agni Kai or afterwards during his reign as Fire Lord. 

A pair of twin strikes sent Zuko permanently on the defensive, as Azula rose to her feet. Zuko tried to strike out and regain the initiative but she swatted away his flames with ease. She bent his own flames back at him, as the more powerful firebender was capable of. The conflagration surrounded her brother consuming his vision most assuredly. She leapt forward closing the distance between them. They stood only a dozen feet away from each other, the moon and ocean spirits dancing in their pond. Only now it was Tui and not Yue, as it was when she last visited here, in the future that wasn’t to be. 

She observed Katara rousing from the blow she suffered. Everything was going to change. She had to be convincing, every inch the liar Zuko always professed her to be. 

“What’s the matter Zuzu? Afraid to be a failure? You have loads of practice by now, it should come naturally to you.” 

“What’s the matter with me? What’s the matter with you?! You should be helping me capture the Avatar. You’re going to let him escape. Why do you always have to have all the glory?!” Zuko snarled at her before punching a quick succession of fire fists in her direction. 

Laughing, Azula stepped lightly, dodging the attacks. One came perilously close to making contact with her cheek. “Haven’t you realized Brother? I’m not here to capture the Avatar. I’m here to help him. The Fire Lord’s regime must end, he’s not worthy of that throne or of being our father.” 

Behind her brother, Azula observed Katara’s mouth hanging open in shock. It was after all quite a bit to take in. Maybe this time, Sokka’s sibling wouldn’t hate her from the very beginning. That ought to make things easier. She always did like Aang, but the water bender sure complicated their family vacations… 

Of course the look of shock on Katara’s mouth was only bested by the pure expression of disbelief manifested on that of Zuko’s.He stumbled over his words, and reeled back away from her, stepping to just a few feet in front of Katara, who now eyed him predatorily. 

“W-w-what do you mean? You’ve always been Father’s loyal and beloved lap dog. Always longing for his approval.” Zuko’s head rocked back and forth from left to right as if refusing to accept the words of his sister. 

“Please.” Her voice was laced with disdain. “Father would see the whole world burn, if only to proclaim himself Emperor of the Ashes. Help us defeat him. Help the Avatar. It’s always been my fate, to aid this Air Nomad in bringing balance. Don’t stand on the wrong side of it in some vain effort to placate a man who burned half your face off. If I can see it, surely you can… although that eye of yours might make it hard.” Azula inwardly sighed, sometimes she couldn’t resist. If Sokka had been here she might have been better behaved... 

Zuko gave a strangled yell. He started to begin a difficult and dangerous kata, preparing to attack his sister with all the force he could muster. Azula stood in front of him, nodding her head for some unknown reason. As he began to understand, he started to lose all control of his body. The ice crept around his body, slamming it shut. He couldn’t bend, he couldn’t move. He was entirely encased by that filthy waterbending peasant. 

Katara continued to add to the icy prison of her creation, supplementing it with water from all around. The young girl from the South Pole still eyed her warily, but she wasn’t outright attacking her. That was progress if nothing else. The Avatar was still away from his body, somewhere off doing whatever spiritual mumbo jumbo he was embarking on. 

Azula stared at the waterbender as a loud roar came from above. It was Appa. She turned to face the bison, in reaction and it was at that moment her legs almost gave out. A million and one emotions ran through her body. Pure unadulterated joy was the most prevalent among them. She had to fight back the smile that threatened to engulf her face from ear to ear. He was here. She finally was with him again. 

He hopped off the Air Bison, his boomerang in hand. Sokka held it aloft, pointing the primitive device at Azula, looking at her for the first time in his life in confusion. 

“Uhhh, Katara... What’s going on? Yue said firebenders were attacking Aang.” 

“Yeah she was supposed to go get help and all she brought back was you!” Katara yelled at him. 

Spirits, how she missed their juvenile relationship. Now matter how old the two of them grew, their dynamic stayed so very similar and their bond never wavered. Azula more than once wished that she and Zuko could have been so close. Maybe this new world would give her that chance. Naturally it wasn’t off to a great start. 

“This is uhhh, I guess Princess?” Katara said questioningly, prompting her to speak.

“My name is Princess Azula and I’m that idiot’s sister.” She jerked a thumb at the mass of unthawed ice. “I told Katara the truth of my mission. I’ve defected from the Fire Nation and I’m trying to help you… and the Avatar bring balance to the world.” She said with a low bow of respect. 

“Uh-huh. And why should we believe you?” Sokka’s boomerang remained pointed dangerously towards her. He really was so skilled, silly nonbender as he was. 

“Zuko knocked me out.” Katara admitted quietly. 

This information caused Sokka to look away from her at last. Azula thought mournfully how she wanted him to continue to stare. She just wanted his bright blue eyes on her at all times of day. 

Katara continued, “If she was trying to help Zuko and the Fire Nation, she could have. They would have escaped, taking Aang and there would be nothing I could do about it. She fought Zuko and was defeating him. Almost toying with him. I subdued him when Zuko’s attention was focused on her. She said, a bunch of stuff about how she was turning against her father. I think she’s on our side… no I’m certain of it.”

Azula almost sighed audibly. It really had been for the best getting Katara to be the first to trust her. The others would be much easier now. Sokka still looked at her with uncertainty, but he turned around, putting his boomerang back in its customary position. He reached his hand out, helping the young woman on Appa’s back down from the bison's saddle. 

Her eyes narrowed, it was an involuntary reaction. Sokka’s hand lingered on the hand of the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe for far too long. Yue was every inch the beauty she had been described as, much to Azula’s dismay. 

Yue stumbled as she dismounted the bison, and Sokka grabbed her in his arms. Azula’s face was likely contorted in rage. How dare she? That absolute floozy, she should know better, Sokka was hers, and hers alone! 

Then again, the young lady shouldn’t know better. As far as she knew, Sokka was the first person to care about her and not see her as a prize to the throne of Ice that signifies the ruler of the Northern Water Tribe. 

“Uhh, Azula?” Katara said nervously, shaking the Fire Nation Princess from her thoughts. 

“Yes, hmmm. Katara was it?” She tried to compose herself as best she could. How could she, they still were holding hands for Agni’s sake. Maybe she could just lob one fireball at the girl. Or she could take out Tui right now… Sokka did forgive her for almost killing Aang, surely it wouldn’t be so bad, maybe Yue was always meant to be the Moon Spirit… 

“Hmm- nothing you just looked as if you zoned out for a bit… Do you mind telling us more about why you left the Fire Nation, we need to know that we can trust you.” 

Azula faked a smile as Yue and Sokka approached her. She had prepared a whole story about how the spirit of Avatar Roku, her great-grandfather had come to her, and set her on the path of redemption. 

She figured it would play much better than the simple unvarnished truth. It after all might be hard to explain to Katara that she was betraying her entire nation and life for the simple pleasure of ravishing her brother's body. 

She had gone to bed in their luxurious penthouse on the very top of the tallest skyscraper in Republic City. Now she was at the far end of the earth, chasing the man she adored, all to provide a world to where they could be once again in that penthouse, in that skyscraper, in that city, which they both loved. 

As she looked at Yue and Sokka standing so close together, she could only relish the challenge presented to her. She was Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, and she always got what she wanted most. 


End file.
